We’re constantly bombarded with stories and tips about becoming more productive. But how many of them actually work?

To get some real answers on productivity, Paul talked with Chris Bailey. You can call him a productivity pilgrim, of sorts. When Chris graduated from business school, he had job offers, but heard a calling instead. That calling was to take a year to research and discover what it truly means to be a productive person.

From his home base in Ottawa, Canada, Chris documented his fact-finding, research and discoveries on his blog. It became so popular that he received an offer to publish a book.

He found through trial and error what didn’t work and happened on a discovery that totally went against conventional wisdom.

SHOW NOTES:

03:20  Chris sums up his “Productivity Project.”

05:50  So after all this research he conducted, what does Chris think everyone should know about productivity?

09:15  So, when it comes to analyzing your life and becoming more productive, where should we start?

11:55  Chris says the biggest killer of productivity is our increasing inability to focus.

14:15  Many people try to shut down all distractions when trying to focus. Chris says there’s a simple reason why we feel the need to do that.

16:45  Chris says to beware of that ever-popular concept of multi-tasking.

18:05  In the war against distraction, Chris says it’s definitely possible to improve your attention muscles.

21:15  There’s another word for upping the quality of our attention in that way: mindfulness.

25:20  It took Chris a while to find out how productivity and mindfulness really are related.

28:20  Chris says all of the lessons that worked in his productivity project fell into one of three categories. First was managing his time. The second was managing his attention. And the third was managing how much energy he had over the course of the day.

30:10  Another productivity-killer can be self-talk. Chris says that’s because studies show that 77 percent of self-talk is negative.

32:50  Chris says it’s important to know why we’re not wired to be perfectly productive every day.

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