Cheap Thoughts

I have recently become completely dissatisfied with the state of radio.  It seems like there are more commercials, less music and little differentiation between radio stations at least in Washington DC.  I can't add satellite radio in my current car, but that is something I will be doing when I buy a new one in a couple years. I've been trying to figure out what to do until then, settled on podcasts and have very impressed.  I started off with a16z, CFR and WSJ and could not be happier with the decision.  

Most of us spend so much time on our cars and for the most part it feels like a complete waste, but with podcasts that's not the case.  I am able to consume the content I wants on my time and with minimal interruption.  Its nice getting out of the car after a 30 minute drive and feeling a little bit more informed.  Even better is the feeling of turning sitting in a car into productive time in my day.

You would be hard pressed to find a more dry subject to write or read about than to-do lists, but you would also have a hard time finding something that is as effective at keeping the ball rolling when there are a million things you need to do. It would be my guess that there is not a single successful corporate executive, start up founder, product manager or great employee out there who isn't using a to do list.  There is no other tool that I'm aware of that allows you to have a clear picture of what needs to be done even when you feel like your world is spinning a million miles an hour or you're in such a deep hole it seems impossible you'll ever get out.

I started using to-do lists about 9 months ago in the office.  My guess is that using them has helped improve my productivity by at least 3x, if not more.  Whats more interesting is that it actually get me excited at the start and finish of every day.  Knowing that I have a bunch of things to knock out in the morning and not leaving until everything is done (whatever time that ends up being) is a pretty rewarding experience.  

What I still have to work on is prioritizing the lists.  It's easy to try and finish the dozen little tasks and feel like you've accomplished a lot, while the 2-3 really big/painful things that are most pressing remain because you don't feel like attacking them.  In reality no one really cares that you've done the little things if your company or department is now at a standstill because you haven't taken care of the most pressing issues.   

If you're interested I would highly recommend reading The Checklist Manifesto , to see how important to-do lists can be if used properly.