Sorry if this isn’t directly related to EA. What is a good way to measure one’s own productivity? I tend to measure the amount of time that I spend doing productive activities, but the discussion here seems to make a convincing case that measuring hours worked isn’t the best method to do so.
The book “Getting Things Done” (which is referenced in the above post, but is quite powerful on its own—the best book I’ve read about productivity, out of many)
The Complice blog and app (a bit different from “standard” productivity systems, but as a self-contained system, it works well for many people I know)
I was planning to donate some money to a climate cause a few months ago, and I decide to give some money to Giving Green (this was after the post here recommending GG). There were some problems with the money going through (unrelated to GG), but anyways now I can still decide to send the money elsewhere. I’m thinking about giving the money elsewhere due to the big post criticizing GG. However, I still think it’s probably a good giving opportunity, given that it’s at an important stage of its growth and seems to have gotten a lot of publicity. Should I consider giving someplace else and doing more research, or should I keep the plan of giving it to GG? (Sorry if this is vague—let me know if I can fill in any details!)
I can also highly recommend Deep Work by Cal Newport, his main thesis is that ‘real’ work only happens/productivity is high when you’re doing it for a few hours at a time instead of 15min blocks with constant interruptions. Edit: should have read the linked post first haha, so see this as another vote for Cal Newport
Sorry if this isn’t directly related to EA. What is a good way to measure one’s own productivity? I tend to measure the amount of time that I spend doing productive activities, but the discussion here seems to make a convincing case that measuring hours worked isn’t the best method to do so.
This is a really deep topic, but certainly worth asking about; if you’re working on an impactful plan, raising your productivity raises your impact.
My favorite starting points for thinking about productivity:
Productivity: A summary of what we know (LessWrong)
The book “Getting Things Done” (which is referenced in the above post, but is quite powerful on its own—the best book I’ve read about productivity, out of many)
The Complice blog and app (a bit different from “standard” productivity systems, but as a self-contained system, it works well for many people I know)
Thanks so much! I’ve been doing some stuff related to GTD, but haven’t read the whole book—will do so.
I was planning to donate some money to a climate cause a few months ago, and I decide to give some money to Giving Green (this was after the post here recommending GG). There were some problems with the money going through (unrelated to GG), but anyways now I can still decide to send the money elsewhere. I’m thinking about giving the money elsewhere due to the big post criticizing GG. However, I still think it’s probably a good giving opportunity, given that it’s at an important stage of its growth and seems to have gotten a lot of publicity. Should I consider giving someplace else and doing more research, or should I keep the plan of giving it to GG? (Sorry if this is vague—let me know if I can fill in any details!)
I can also highly recommend Deep Work by Cal Newport, his main thesis is that ‘real’ work only happens/productivity is high when you’re doing it for a few hours at a time instead of 15min blocks with constant interruptions. Edit: should have read the linked post first haha, so see this as another vote for Cal Newport