Productivity on blot.blog

Dwight Schrute Is My Life Coach

elliot@clowes.me (Elliot Clowes) — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 15:28:00 +0100

Sometimes the most profound wisdom comes from the unlikeliest sources. Case in point: the comedy show The Office (US) has given me two pieces of advice I rely on constantly.

Don’t be an idiot

Michael asks his protégée Dwight what the best piece of advice he ever gave him was.

“Don’t be an idiot” he replies without hesitation. “Changed my life”.

It’s played for laughs – highlighting the absurdity that Dwight never independently considered this himself.

You Don't Need More Content – You Need Better Attention

elliot@clowes.me (Elliot Clowes) — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 07:40:12 +0000

Reading Henrik Karlsson ° got me thinking about the importance of high quality ‘inputs’.

Every day, we wade through dozens of blog posts, when our reading list is full. We browse book reviews, despite having shelves of unread greatness. We scan Rotten Tomatoes, while our watchlist already contains more masterpieces than we could watch in years.

Consuming excellence isn’t a search problem. It’s a focus problem. I know which blogs have a low ‘hit’ rate. I know early on when a book isn’t good. I know I rarely gain anything from visiting a news site.

Big projects, small favours: Boost your work reputation by nailing the extremes

elliot@clowes.me (Elliot Clowes) — Sat, 25 May 2024 20:09:37 +0100

Want to be known as dependable and great at your job? Focus on the big and the small tasks.

People notice when that critical project is struggling. They also notice when you promise a small favour but take forever to deliver.

It’s tempting to tackle the medium tasks first. The small ones can wait until later. But suddenly it’s the end of the day and they’re not done.

And the big projects feel overwhelming, so you wait for the perfect time to start. Which never arrives.

4000 Weeks: Embracing Limits for a Fuller Life

elliot@clowes.me (Elliot Clowes) — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:20:06 +0000

Ever feel like you’re hurtling through life, desperately trying to cram everything in before it’s too late? Oliver Burkeman’s book “Four Thousand Weeks” aims to help you (4000 weeks is 80 years, the average human lifespan). But it’s not your typical time management book. It’s a philosophical and practical look at why you’re stuck in the hamster wheel of “getting things done.”

I read it recently. So let’s take a deeper look at it and it’s ideas.