In no particular order, here are my thoughts…
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💡 Principle 1: keep lists but only have one single source of truth
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- Lesson from Sam Altman (link) and Bill Walsh (The Score Takes Care of Itself); “make a lot of lists”
- “Lists are very focusing, and they help me with multitasking because I don’t have to keep as much in my head. If I’m not in the mood for some particular task, I can always find something else I’m excited to do” - Sam Altman
- Only have one “master” list or source of truth, otherwise it becomes difficult to know where to look to do the next task
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💡 Principle 2: do the hard thing first!
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- It is human nature to do the easy thing e.g. a Slack notification pops up which you reply to quickly. Instead, do the hard thing first!
- “I try to prioritise in a way that generates momentum. I am relentless about getting my most important projects done” - Sam Altman (link)
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💡 Principle 3: be ruthless in saying no to things: urgency / importance matrix
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- Always have this matrix in your mind and do those things which are important x urgent
- “I try to be ruthless about saying no to stuff, and doing non-critical things in the quickest way possible” - Sam Altman (link)
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💡 Principle 4: use meeting time wisely…and calendar default meeting times of 30 or 60 mins should be avoided
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- “Keep default meeting times within a company to 10/15/20 minutes or 2hrs +” - Sam Altman (link)
- Amazon’s principles: the 2 pizza meeting (link) & reading time at the start of each meeting (link)
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💡 Principle 5: rest, recovery, exercise & diet is vital for productivity
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