# Episode 17: [Tiago Forte]() and [Khe Hy]() #### ▶ Play Episode ▶ [Apple Podcasts]() | [Stitcher]() | [Google Play]() | [TuneIn]()| [RSS]() Tiago Forte is the founder of Forte Labs and has been called the “next David Allen.” Today’s productivity writing is mostly focused on “squeezing water out of a stone” but this approach overlooks the core human behaviors and tendencies. In these two episodes, we start with First Principles (aka building blocks), share our toolkits, and where we get stuck. This is a 2-part episode where we take turns interviewing each other (and don’t miss our [first episode]()). * * * #### __A note from Khe:__ Tiago’s been a huge influence on my life via his ideas, writing, and his class. I thought I was a _productivity Jedi_ but it’s been a personal game-changer — both __output__ but also __joy__ in having the right systems. __Building a Second Brain__ decreased the time it takes me to produce RadReads __AND__ has unleashed a torrent of productivity. [__Sign up__]() for the next session, beginning November 6. []() Note: Affiliate link, proceeds will support RadReads growth * * * ### How to read these notes We start with each of our First Principles and then our Workflow “tool kit” and then dive into the specifics. #### Tiago’s First Principles of Workflow * Finishing every work session with a clear deliverable or milestone * Optimize for intensity (via time tracking) * All priorities are local * Go to extremes of sociability or isolation * Document everything * Make pivots to new tasks or working styles as dramatic as possible * Push non-value added tasks as late as possible and pull value-added tasks as early as possible * Satisfice wherever possible * Don’t reinvent the wheel, don’t do things — look for excuses to do things * Getting out of bed in the morning is always the first bottleneck #### Tiago’s Toolkit * For __task management:__ [__ _Things___]() * For __knowledge management__ and __general reference material__ : [__ _Evernote___]() * For __reading things later__ : [__ _Instapaper___]() * For __collaborative documents__ : [__ _Google Docs___]() * For __filesharing / backup__ : [__ _DropBox___]() * For __digital calendar__ : [BusyCal]() > They’re very stable and rarely change over time. Because for most people, the bottleneck is not which tools you’re using (i.e. Apple Calendar vs. Google Calendar). The bottleneck is: are you using an online calendar? ?? * * * #### Khe’s First Principles * Limit cognitive overhead * Beware of asymmetric options * Deep Work * Batch tasks (and single-task) * Manage energy over time #### Khe’s Toolkit * For __task management:__ [__ _Omnifocus___]() * For __knowledge management__ and __general reference material__ : [__ _Evernote___]() * For __reading things later__ : [__ _Instapaper___]() * For __collaborative documents__ : [__ _Quip___]() * For __filesharing / backup__ : [__ _DropBox___]() * For __digital calendar__ : [__ _Fantastical___]() * * * ### Tiago Workflow Deep-Dive #### Principle 1: Finishing every work session with a clear deliverable or milestone __Why?__ Because high-value work has a _huge_ of the ramp-up period. If you complete 90% of a deliverable, and say you’ll “do the last 10% later”, you have to ramp all the way up __again__ just to finish the last 10%. ___Khe: “But what if it’s a BIG problem that’s taking you a long time?”___ > “Make packets of work small” If your packets of work are 3 hours, you won’t accomplish anything unless you you have 3 uninterrupted hours — And this is rare. Instead: you make your packets of work smaller (i.e. 30 minutes), you’ll be able to get things done anytime you have 30 minutes. ⏱⏱⏱ ___Khe: “What if your task NEEDS cognitive momentum and takes longer than 30 minutes?”___ > “What really creates momentum is an _accelerating pace of rewards. Break down work into smaller and smaller packets, to create an accelerating pace of rewards_ Momentum in knowledge work isn’t like momentum in horseback riding ? or running ?where you see the trees ?? as you pass by. Momentum is completely defined internally by how you feel. Here’s a blog post by Tiago on the topic: [__Mood as Extrapolation Engine: Using Emotions to Generate Momentum__ _I believe that moods (or less colloquially, states of mind) can be used not just defensively, making the best of…_ praxis.fortelabs.co]( "https://praxis.fortelabs.co/mood-as-extrapolation-engine-using-emotions-to-generate-momentum-65a2e5940aae") #### Principle 2: __Optimize for intensity (via ACTIVE time tracking)__ > “You must actively track your time. The point is deliberate awareness of your time allocation, not data collection.” To actively track your time, you’d say “I am now done with project A, I consciously open my app to clock out of project A, and consciously clock into project B” Tiago prefers an app like [Hours Tracker](), where you clock in and out, as opposed to [RescueTime](), that passively tracks your activity. ___Khe: But Why Active tracking?___ > People tend to have very _fuzzy edges._ They’re sort of checking their email and slowly transitioning from email to a project, but keep going back to check email. To maximize productivity, You need a __ _clean___ _break_. ? You’re not trying to master time, you’re trying to master yourself. Mastering yourself means: making a decision on what to work on, and _committing_ to that decision by taking action. ___Tiago: After analyzing two years of my time tracking data, I found that I only really work for 25 hours / week. This was shocking because my perception is that I’m always working___ Live look at Tiago after realizing he only works 25 hours per week. > This is seriously throws into question the idea of a 45 hour work week ___Khe: How does time tracking lead to intesnity?___ > “When you start working in this way, it completely cuts down on multi tasking and switching. Because If you decide to multi-task, you have to constantly go into your app and clock in and out of tasks. > My intensity isn’t reinforced by my morals or values (“I should do intense work”) it’s enforced because active time tracking makes multi-tasking a pain.” Khe has his own intensity hack. Has a 15 character (!) iPhone password and no TouchID ? ? ? Remember: > “There’s something human about wanting little bits of distraction & that’s not morally wrong” __Time Tracking Pro tip__ : there are all kind of issues with time tracking. Don’t miss the forest through the trees — it’s not an exact science. The ? is to be _aware_ and _consistent_ in how you track. #### Principle 3: All Priorities are Local ___What does it mean?___ look for “excuses” to do things. Change the order of your priorities based on context. > In productivity, priorities are a __BIG__ deal. You’re supposed to make a list of priorities #1 through #10, and then cross out #2 — #10 and do #1. But this ignores an important point. The priority # of something is totally context-dependent. It’s not an _inherent property_ of the thing itself. Let’s take a relatable example, Dry Cleaning. Dry-cleaning is never going to be the top of your to-do list. EXCEPT when happen to be driving by the dry cleaners. In this context, you’ve already done 99% of the work required to complete the task by coincidence. So __in that moment__ , the __most productive__ thing you can do is pick up dry cleaning. > “The key here is ‘random access‘ — having more than 1 way to access your tasks” Use your tools to surface tasks in different ways. We can all relate to the example below: > _When I have an hour to read, I don’t want to spend the hour I have looking for things to read, I want to spend it actually reading!!!_ Tiago documents each task in his task manager with a standardized word. For example, everything he has to read across all projects and domains in his task manager starts with the keywork “read” > By typing in the word “read,” I can instantly see everything I need to read across all projects and areas on one list ___Khe This is MEGA important if you have children___? ?‍?‍?‍? __ _. You have to make the kid’s nap time as productive as possible for you!___ __Extra Credit__ : Here’s a good book on Product Development that Tiago recommends: [__The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development__ _“…the dominant paradigm for managing product development is wrong. Not just a little wrong, but wrong to its very…_ www.amazon.com]( "https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Product-Development-Flow-Generation/dp/1935401009") * * * ### __The Tiago ToolKit__ ___Khe Asks: How do you decide which file goes where? Evernote vs. DropBox vs. Google Docs?___ > It‘s based what _I’m trying to accomplish._ If it can go on Evernote, it should. Here’s the great strength of digital note taking ?: the __actual content__ is close to the surface. Its container is invisible. When you fire up Evernote, the content of the note is front and center You’re an artist and your digital notetaking app is your studio ?‍? ?‍? . An artist who works with sculpture, painting, and drawing puts everything in their studio so they can see these forms of media juxtaposesd in interesting ways. You do this digitally with your notetaking app. __We need Multiple ways to resurface things. Because the mind is so good at making arbitrary connections.__ Tiago has an “Idea Tickler” that he uses instead of checking social media. > You’re tapping into human idea to want novelty and distraction. Don’t treat this desire like a moral failure, use it to your advantage! __Extra Credit:__ Want to build the script for the Idea Tickler yourself? check it out in [Tiago’s blog post]() (paywalled) ___Khe Asks: Where does Tiago Get Stuck?___ > How do I evaluate my progress in Areas of Responsibility such as Health? I know there are things I could do better. Should I accept that and be satisfied and equanimous? Or is that signaling that I need a change? The tug of war between equanimity & [driving for change] __Text expanders__ Text expanders have quite valuable to Tiago. A text expander = when you type a keyword (such as: #p) it replaces that text with your phone number. People use them all the time time on mobile, but Tiago believes the most valuable is on desktop. [computer emoji] There are a few [different options]() for [text expanders:]() * TextExpander * aText * Typinator * Dash 3 * TypeIt4me * Keyboard Maestro * Alfred 3 * DIY in “System Preferences * * * This conversation just scratches the surface of Tiago’s class __Building a Second Brain —__ Go____[__Sign Up__]() for the next session, beginning November 6. []() Note: Affiliate link, proceeds will support RadReads growth