Productivity: Disturb / Do Not Disturb

Interruptions Stink Let’s face it:  Interruptions and distractions are definitely issues that tamper with productivity. It doesn’t matter these days if you’re in an collocated workspace environment, or remote. Teamwork and collaboration requires frequent communication. Yet we want to make sure that doesn’t derail our train of thought. So instead of going back …

Agile, The Progress Principle, and a Healthy Inner Work Life

If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend the book: “The Progress Principle.” The authors’ explored the question: “What really makes people happy, motivated, productive, and creative at work…?” Plot spoiler alert: the title is a dead giveaway on what makes us and our teams tick: The strongest contributing factors: …

Pomodoro – Get in the Zone

tl;dr: The pomodoro technique breaks down periods of work into short (typically 25-minute) intervals called “pomodori” (from the Italian word pomodoro for “tomato” – the shape of the kitchen timer creator Francesco Cirillo originally used), separated by brief breaks. The method is based on the idea that: Multitasking, context switching, distractions …

The Cost of Context Switching

It’s a pretty tired discussion in my house: Multi-threading, multi-tasking, the cost of context switching, etc. Especially with a teenager at the dinner table… So I found a nifty exercise to drive the point home. Supplies Needed: One volunteer who considers themselves an expert context-switcher / multi-threader Three decks of …

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