

Famous people productivity methods - raphar
http://laphamsquarterly.org/visual/assets_c/2010/03/WorkingMethods-1227.php

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jgrahamc
I'm not famous, but I can tell you a few things about my productivity:

1\. When writing The Geek Atlas I worked consistently Monday to Friday from
0900 to 1200 and then 1300 to 1700. I used a spreadsheet to track my progress,
predict completion time and motivate me.

2\. On a daily basis I grab a standard note card and write down five things
that I want to achieve that day. That keeps me focussed on what's important.

3\. I travel by public transport and use that time for thinking, reading, and
writing. Many of the articles I've written have been banged out on a Macbook
Air on a London bus. Most of the content has been refined in my head in bed,
walking down the street, in the shower etc.

4\. I keep my email inbox triaged ruthlessly. Currently there is a single
email in my work inbox, and four in my personal one.

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GiraffeNecktie
You can boost your productivity even more by combining several of these
methods. For example, you could shave half your head, take off all your
clothes, and walk to work with a drink in one hand and a rotten apple in the
other.

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jbrun
Just a note to say the magazine, Lapham's Quarterly is amazing, it gives you
essays and information from ancient Greece to modern america. It is my
favourite subscription, really gives perspective on all sorts of issues that
were as important 3000 years ago as they are today.

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csuper
That site is pretty cool, there are lots of similar charts and graphs on
there.

Day jobs...

<http://laphamsquarterly.org/visual/charts-graphs/?page=71>

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aarghh
Based on this sample set, plain weirdness correlates with productivity. Mozart
seems to be the only one who followed a "normal routine".

~~~
gwern
> Based on this sample set

A sample set specifically chosen for the intersection of 'weird' and 'famous'
(for productivity). Would anyone else but an eminence like Victor Hugo get
written up for telling his valet to take away his clothes so he would write
naked - or get written off as mad?

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edw519
I love this post! I'll probably make a hard copy and put it over my desk. Why?
Not any particular reason, just for fun.

Thanks to OP for not saying something like, "Productivity Improvement
Methods". These are just random things famous people did that worked for them,
with or without any good reason.

I remember standing in the rooms where Victor Hugo (Paris) and Ernest
Hemingway (Key West) did much of their work. I just took in the vibe, hoping
it might improve my own work. Still not sure it did.

