More on Productivity

This issue of productivity (see Josef Tonick's question) is such a critical one, I thought I'd better expand on it just a bit in case my thoughts on this would be of interest. Some of this is pretty elementary and may seem obvious, but just in case . . .

Handle It Once
Paper. What a hassle. Junk mail is the best example I can think of. Think of the cumulative effort over your lifetime if you take your junk mail from the mailbox, to your desk, sort it at your desk into a pile to dispose of, then carry it to the recycle bin under the sink, then to the recycle bin outside. You've now handled it five times. My rule is to handle every piece of paper I can as few times as I can. Once is ideal. The first time I touch it, I read and toss, read and file, read then scan then file, or — but only if it's unavoidable and necessary — read and pile somewhere for later action. Even then, I add a task on my computer so I don't forget it. This rule applies to everything — not just paper. Stuff accumulates; it's the way of the world. I use the strategy call E-C-R-S which is eliminate, combine, rearrange, and simplify. Seriously, it's almost a religious code with me.

Templates
If I know I'm going to be doing something like this again, I build a template. Both LensWork and LensWork Extended are constructed entirely from InDesign templates. We invest our time in them with regularity, refining and improving them with consistency. We prepare all the images for both publications from Lightroom export templates and Photoshop actions as the first step. A final look at each image one-at-a-time might require some manual tweaking, but for the most part the heavy lifting is done by the templates and actions. Use Word style sheets, clip-text archives for frequently typed phrases, keyboard macros, InDesign object/paragraph/character styles, etc. Even in something as physical as assembling LensWork Folios, we use templates for lining up scoring marks, etc.

Multi-tasking (not a computer topic!)
Just a few minutes ago, I needed another cup of coffee. I walked into the kitchen while I was thinking about this topic, preparing to type up this blog post. Let me describe my actions in the course of about 10 minutes. To make my coffee, I needed to grind some beans. While they were grinding, I emptied the dishwasher while the water in the sink was running to get warm. When the first batch of beans was done grinding, I started the drip into my coffee mug while I washed a few dishes and listened to a David Blatner podcast from InDesignSecrets.com on my Olympus DM-520 pocket recorder. I dictated a few notes about this post while the coffee finished dripping, speaking in "dictation mode" — dripping comma speaking in open quotes dictation mode close quotes dash — so I could transcribe this blog post using Dragon Systems Naturally Speaking rather than typing it. I uploaded the audio file and finished adding cream to my coffee while Dragon typed the first draft of the blog post. I looked at my watch and 10 minutes had passed since I first left my desk to get another cup of coffee. Multi-tasking indeed.

Opportunity Cost and the Value of Delegating
I once did a calculation on the amount of time I would spend in total over the course of my life mowing the grass. It was an exercise in the concept of opportunity cost. This is the price you pay in the things not done as a result of the decision to do the things you do. For example, the opportunity cost of watching Gilligan's Island rerun is that you don't spend that half hour cleaning the darkroom. The cost of the TV show is the dirty darkroom. Life is making choices and every choice we make has a price we pay in the choices we reject. I decided I would rather pay someone to mow my grass so I could have that time working on my photography. The time with photography was more important to me than the cash — besides, if I sell a photograph now and again I'll have the cash to pay for the lawn service. I haven't mowed my grass for over 20 years — and they edge the lawn and fertilize twice a year, too. Yes!

Early to bed . . .
This is a tough one to recommend to folks because it is such a personal thing. My genetics and habits combine to make me a "morning person." I'm typically sound asleep by 9:30-10:00 every night. I wake up, naturally, around 5am — sometimes earlier. (I haven't been wakened by an alarm clock in decades!) A quick "stretch," a cup of coffee, and I'm at my desk down the hall by no later than 5:30am every morning, seven days a week. I check my email, scan the news headlines, check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day (fabulous website!), a couple of my favorite photography blogs and websites, and then get busy on a few tasks of the day. By the time the staff arrives at 8:30am or so, I've already got a couple of hours and a shower under my belt. That keeps them efficient and gives me a little time of uninterrupted work before the phone starts ringing. It was these hours in the morning that allowed me to stay on top of my recently concluded New 100 Prints Project. All those images, text, audio notes, and web posts were done early in the morning before work.

Watch TV on Purpose
We all have weaknesses that haunt us. One of mine is the tube. If I'm not careful, I get sucked in. Pretty soon I'm all wrapped up in what's behind door number three, or whether House will solve the case before the patient dies. I could tell you of some lost days in my youth when I never left the couch. In my jammies. With Lucky Charms and milk as my only sustenance of the day. Fortunately, I learned I was powerless against the tube's hypnotic effects and have been able to keep it under control, mainly. I watch TV, but I pick and choose what and when. I keep it to a dull roar, and try to watch on purpose. I don't allow myself access to the cereal aisle. Demons. Guard against them.

Measure
Harold Geneen, in his classic book Managing, pounds home the simple concept that what gets measured gets managed. I've found his observation is so true. If I really want something to get done, I make sure my thoughts about it include some form of quantitative measurement. The "100 prints" project mentioned above is an example. Wishy-washy goals tend to washed away. You may quote me on that. How many prints did you make last year? How many did you intend to make? How often did you update your website? How often should you have? How much did you spend on camera gear? How often did you back up your computer files? Yikes. When I was a kid my Mom used to keep a chart of my chores on the fridge where she'd glue a star in the box for each day and each chore I finished. At the end of the week, Dad would reward me with my allowance based on the number of stars on the chart. What gets measured gets managed. I'm now 55 years old and the principle still works.

Hope this helps.

   

Comments

[Robert Hoehne]

I'll put a dishwasher on my list of things to get for this year. :o)

[Jerzy Pawlowski]

Hi Brooks,
"My comment is more toward today's podcast "Of Space and Time" but I think this podcast is very well related to the above text.
Space has very wide meaning in some cases. I am developing software and working only from home. It was real problem how to separate photography from my work, how to enjoy photo editing when I am spending numerous hours in front of the monitor every day. In addition I am not returning home, I am always at work. First idea - darkroom. And I have built new darkroom and I am using it. However I didn't want to miss digital photography, especially that I can see lots of new opportunities.
My solution was to assign not only new space (room) but also entirely new for me computing environment.
Overall this approach of total change appears to work. Despite initial difficulties when I am in my "lightroom", at a different computer system that has only photo software installed I really don't think about other world.

While listening to your podcast, it crossed my mind that to words Space and Time I would add the third one: Tools. It is very often under appreciated subject, and bad chair or eye hurting monitor can kill someone's inspiration or ideas. "

Jerzy Pawlowski

[Ivan Makarov]

Thank you Brooks. I especially enjoyed your thoughts on goal setting. I am specifically trying to get more numeric with my photography goals and your thoughts are touching on something I been thinking about recently.

[Ivan Makarov]

PS - Since it appears you're using Wordpress platform, I hightly recommend installing "subscribe to comments" plugin, which will make commenting here much easier, in case there is a discussion on some topic (I always subscribe when I leave a comment).

[Brooks Jensen]

Actually, our blogs are hosed on Typepad. To follow any topic by receiving emails when comments are added, just look at the top of the list of comments for the text "You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post" and click on the link. Essentially, every post has its own RSS link so you can track any that are of particular interest to you.
Brooks

[Donna Kirkpatrick]

More time saving: Reduce unnecessary travel (work from home if possible). If you have to work outside the home, try to get an alternate schedule that takes you outside of the prime commuting hours and gets you more quiet time (fewer people distractions) at work. Actively filter junk that is allowed to reach your feeble mind, e.g., if have something like Yahoo mail, set it up so you go directly to the mailbox or screen it on a Blackberry so you are not tempted to get sucked into all those "important news items" on the yahoo home page. However, it is not a waste of time to carefully view and consider art/photographs.

[Douglas R Winn]

My biggest "hurdle" is saying "yes" too often. I need to learn to say "no", just out of self preservation.