Do you struggle to get enough done at work?
Rule 1: Do not bury the lede
I’m announcing a joint venture Productivity Consultancy with Sarah Ohanesian called Super Productive.
Rule 2: Don’t forget the context
Let me explain how we got here, and why you should care.
Tales of Neurodivergence
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been hyperactive. I move at high speed, I think at high speed, I do most things at high speed. My interests are varied and my focus is chaotic. Later in my life, I came to understand this condition of mine as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.
In my early twenties, while still in college, I turned to medication for help with my focus and hyperactivity. But, Ritalin made me feel dangerously aggressive. So, I stopped.
I made it through college and after trying to start a few businesses, decided to go back to school to get my Masters degree. During my MBA, I once again struggled with productivity, so this time, I turned to a different medication, Adderall. Far more effective for me than Ritalin, there were still significant drawbacks such as the debilitating migraines I would get after one week of consistent usage. After a few months of off and on usage and too many migraines, I stopped.
I decided to forego any future attempts at medication and try my hand at non-pharmaceutical solutions such as meditation, mental health therapy, and various productivity tools and systems.
NOTE: this is my story, not an indictment of medication
Ideas & Tools
I read David Allen’s book Getting Things Done (GTD) in early 2008. It was a milestone in my life. While I don’t adhere to the entire methodology, the idea of getting tasks out of your head and into a trusted system to process externally was truly life-changing for me.
I started religiously using my calendar and downloaded my first task manager on the iPhone 3G called Remember the Milk.
Over the years, I tried a multitude of different task management apps from Flow to NirvanaHQ to Asana, and more recently Todoist. At the same time I began to learn more about different productivity systems such as Kanban, and bits and pieces about Agile and Scrum methodologies. Over the years, I’ve tried to learn everything I can about how different people get more done and feel more clear headed because of it.
The net result of all of this, is that I’ve become super productive.
Don’t miss this post:
Getting Things Done (GTD): My Recommended Tools
The Birth of Super Productive
Sometime around 2014, I introduced my client and friend Sarah Ohanesian to Asana when she was the CMO at a summer camp. Since then, Sarah left the camp and started her own Productivity Coaching practice and in 2019, let me know about the Asana Certified Pros program that she’d just joined. I signed up and was immediately accepted. Soon after, we were both working independently and realized that our powers combined far exceeded our individual abilities.
My productivity journey has been the product of a neurodivergent individual trying to get things done and contribute, typically in an agency environment. By contrast, Sarah is neurotypical and has had to design and implement productivity systems for a wide variety of individuals as part of a small business. These two unique perspectives give us a well-rounded view to help companies and people from various backgrounds.
As of today, we’re officially launching Super Productive, a productivity consultancy that helps small businesses and agencies design better systems to clarify and organize their work, take action, and leave work with a clear mind to spend time with those they love.
We built this business because too many people leave work feeling like they didn’t get enough accomplished, so they come home feeling like they’re not enough and consequently aren’t able to be fully present with the most important people in their lives. We’ve both seen and helped businesses overcome this reality through the use of better systems and processes.
If you are struggling with getting your team aligned and productive, or you’re paying licensing fees for productivity software that you aren’t using to its full potential, come check out what we’re doing.
