nstead of handing down yet more tablets of stone, let me reflect on my own productivity mistakes. My biggest problem is that I always have too many projects on the go. Columns, book chapters, speeches and podcast scripts vie for my attention. This is not without its advantages. Variety is fun, as well as offering some protection from the vicissitudes of a career in the media. Projects cross-fertilise each other and if you get stuck on something, you can switch to something else that is equally worthwhile. Many of the great artists and scientists have been inveterate slow-motion multitaskers.
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My second productivity confession is that I respond to email too quickly. I realise that risks being a humblebrag, along the lines of “my biggest weakness is that I work too hard”. But it’s not difficult to be responsive to email: all that is required is a simple filing system and a willingness to make decisions.
Source: My biggest productivity mistake by Tim Harford