The Notebook

For many years I have tried to be as productive as possible. I have long worn it as a badge of honor.

I remember when I first started working in IT. This was before everyone had smartphones and I used to carry around a foolscap notebook of lined paper with all my tasks written down on it. It would run pages long.

• Fix print services for call center machine 16.
• Install WordPerfect in call center machine 3.
• Figure out why NetWare login services are not working with the Windows NT server.

The list went on and on and on. I worked 7 days a week back then and, well, I loved it because it was all new. I even still thought Microsoft systems were good! Yeah, it was a long time ago.

The point is that nothing could seem to break my attention from that list. Every time I finished a task I had the pleasure of crossing it out. Gone, on to the next one. It was a wonderful time full of learning and momentum. When I plowed through tasks, what I felt was movement. Just getting things done.

I find that today this is way harder due to the constant distractions. There is simply TOO much information and not enough filtering. Overwhelm is a very real thing.

I have learned to just be militant with my notifications these days. I turn almost all of them off.

A Protocol for Staying Focused and Productive

1. Turn off every notification except calls from people who truly need you. Each ping pulls your attention somewhere new, and attention you lose is hard to get back.
2. Batch your email into two or three set times a day. You stop reacting to every message and start deciding what each one needs.
3. Write your three most important tasks the night before. The next morning starts with a decision already made.
4. Work in one block of focused time with one task on the screen. Depth comes from staying with one thing long enough to finish it.
5. Keep one master list, not five scattered ones. One place to look means less mental load.
6. Close the apps and tabs you are not using. Anything open is a small invitation to drift.
7. End each day by crossing off what you finished and clearing the rest into tomorrow's list. Closure is the feeling I miss most from the old notebook.

The notebook and the inbox ask the same question: what does it mean to be productive? Really, deeply alive? My old list gave me movement, momentum, the joy of closure. Each crossed-out line was a small, visible victory. Freedom is not about clearing more tasks; it is about choosing which tasks are yours. Like a mountain path, you climb one switchback at a time—and you choose the route.