What's your most efficient or effective productivity mode?

[Gaze]

What's your most efficient or effective productive mode?

In what mode, frame of mind, or mental state do you get the most work done or feel the most productive or accomplished?

What conditions are usually present for you to feel you can accomplish or achieve what you need to do?

How do you judge how productive you've been?

 

[Ryo]

I was just thinking about this. I'm generally pretty productive but there are certain times when I get SO MUCH DONE.

It's the times when I don't think "how much more of this should I do before I need to rest?" I feel like that question is in my head basically 24/7 and I occasionally have times when it's not. I just sort of do stuff - usually cleaning

I'm incredibly productive when I focus only on the task and not on my self-monitoring report (as my dad calls it).

 

[This]

Lots and lots of stress with a deadline tagged at the end. Also high pressure public situations where if I screw up A LOT of people will know about it, such as running sound.

 

[Sriracha]

I can't explain it ... I call it the "bug up my ass" mode. I'm productive the majority of the time, but in that mode I'm like a machine on crack. To get that way I suppose I have to feel as though there are more things on my "to do" list than what I would like and the "J" in me wants to get them all finished (and I normally do.) So get out of my way or I will run you over.

 

[AUM]

Music plays a huge role on how productive I am. All I need to do is to put some dragonforce songs on my ipod and I'm ready to go. It's that electrifying state of mind when I get that adrenaline rushing. It's the best.

An example...

[video=youtube;yg8VFMZ6_g8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg8VFMZ6_g8[/video]

 

[LGLPbeliever]

Usually when I'm just in a ripe good mood. When I quit trying to do something and then I start doing that thing. Haha that sounds stupid.

 

[grt$5vb]

If somebody pisses me off I go into turbo mode & start scrubbing dishes, toilets, putting away baskets of laundry... it's awesome.

 

[JGirl]

What's your most efficient or effective productive mode?

In what mode, frame of mind, or mental state do you get the most work done or feel the most productive or accomplished?

What conditions are usually present for you to feel you can accomplish or achieve what you need to do?

How do you judge how productive you've been?

my only requirement is for people to leave me alone so i can begin
i accomplish the most and produce my best work when i am totally uninterrupted.
contented exhaustion is an indication that i've been very productive.

 

[TaylorS]

I'm at my most productive when I have a clear goal in mind, a step-by-step to-do list, clear directions, and am not hovered over by an overbearing supervisor.

 

[Gaze]

I'm at my most productive when I have a clear goal in mind, a step-by-step to-do list, clear directions, and am not hovered over by an overbearing supervisor.

+1. I hate poor guidance and I strongly dislike managers or advisors who are too lax or micromanage.

 

[technics]

What's your most efficient or effective productive mode?

A clear mind; no annoying people in my team who can't organize, are unreliable, can't communicate, distort facts etc. My best mode is when I've seized the power in the group and the few eager alphas are kept in line, the plan is solid and simple, and a few ISTJs in the team who really make things easier.

 

[Gaze]

I also find that I am more productive when I have a personal project I am must complete. If I don't have an internal need to accomplish something meaningful, I veg. I need something to boost my energy and keep me motivated. And external motivation is the worse form of encouragement. I have to feel personally invested to be truly productive and I need to be in a one-track frame of mind where my focus is on what I have to do to get things done.

 

[floatingbridge]

I am most productive when personal projects are planned uncrowdedly, scattered among happy events that are not within my control... a happy balance of ticking things off the list... ^^

 

[sprinkles]

I'm most productive when I'm not worried about what I'd rather be doing.

The easiest way to get me to work is to see somebody working because I love to help. I'm not so great solo but if somebody needs something done, I can be very eager. My main downfall is I can be a little too eager to please and not pace myself and get burnout.

 

[barbad0s]

fire under my ass and risk of mass public shame lol

 

[MindYourHead]

I am most productive when I feel good about what I am doing.

Where I work there are two owners that are complete opposites. One is very upbeat and always looks on the bright side even when we have a bad month in terms of sales.
The other just storms in the room and will tell us we had a sucky month! rawr, rawr, rawr! /-(
He seems to think we should be equally upset as he is, and be motivated by it to do better.
When the reality is, after he leaves the room I feel like shit and don't want to do a damn thing the rest of the day for his business. A grey cloud over my head.
(Oddly enough, my coworker is motivated by such negativism. At least I find it odd.)
It is really best if Oscar the Grouch owner talks to us first, and the upbeat owner last.

 

[Gaze]

I am most productive when I feel good about what I am doing.

Where I work there are two owners that are complete opposites. One is very upbeat and always looks on the bright side even when we have a bad month in terms of sales.
The other just storms in the room and will tell us we had a sucky month! rawr, rawr, rawr! /-(
He seems to think we should be equally upset as he is, and be motivated by it to do better.
When the reality is, after he leaves the room I feel like shit and don't want to do a damn thing the rest of the day for his business. A grey cloud over my head.
(Oddly enough, my coworker is motivated by such negativism. At least I find it odd.)
It is really best if Oscar the Grouch owner talks to us first, and the upbeat owner last.

Ying and Yang, right? I guess we need them both.

 

[sassafras]

What's your most efficient or effective productive mode?

In what mode, frame of mind, or mental state do you get the most work done or feel the most productive or accomplished?

What conditions are usually present for you to feel you can accomplish or achieve what you need to do?

How do you judge how productive you've been?

It's taken me years to realize this, but I can't do small blocks of productivity. I can't do the thing where I work on something for 15 to 30 minutes and then switch to another task and then keep to a schedule until it's all done. My brain doesn't work that way. I'm all or nothing. When I sit down to do something, I have to go from start to finish or else I'll get distracted and my attention will wander to another task and I will end up with a whole collection of unfinished tasks. As such, my optimal productivity sessions are often marathons wherein I don't look up for hours while I hyper-focus on whatever it is that I'm doing. I shut myself off from everything. My office has to be clean and my desk is clear and I only have one or two tabs open on my computer to make sure there's nothing else to grab my attention. Recently, I've taken to having instrumental music blasting in my headphones and it's worked wonders to drown out any distracting thoughts.

I feel most productive when I've got no emotions and I'm not invested in doing the work perfectly or with care. I'm just a machine. Getting things done and out of the way gets me hyped up and I want to do more. For me, the 'don't care, just gotta get this done' always wins over the 'I want to do this as perfectly as I can' because the latter attitude always has me obsessing over stupid, useless little details. Perfection get me frustrated with myself because while I can outlast most people in terms of my huge stores of mental and physical stamina, I do eventually run out of juice and then beat myself up for having spent so much time and not having finished this when I wanted to. Therefore, my ideal mix of requirements for productivity is determination and a lack of personal investment in the project. When the ego drops away, I'm all in and I motor through.

I judge productivity based on how much I've gotten finished. It doesn't matter how much work I put in, it's the end result that matters to me. If the result isn't there, I don't feel productive or accomplished.

... And I just had an incredible insight just now. Holy crap.

 

[bionic]

I am my most efficient an hour after I wake up (or after I get a healthy meal in me). I have to feel very alert to get what I need done. I actually did more than I expected yesterday since it was cloudy and overcast (puts me in the worst mood to study). I got to study for a hour each class. It was great. If I accomplish more than I set myself up to do, then I just judge that as me being most efficient.

I usually have a list of things to do in my head. I never write my list down because I like to trick my mind. I know if I'm not gonna write it down then I MUST remember it. I also set my goals fairly low for each day so if I do more than I expect of myself, I feel more confident. It's all about trickery and boosting my own self-confidence so I can do better and improve the next time. I like to study on a nice, cloudy day but this dark, wintery weather really kills my concentration. I hate it.