Heuristics are rules intended to help
in solving problems. When a problem is large or complex and the
optimal solution is unclear, applying a heuristic allows beginning and making
progress towards a solution even though one can’t visualize the entire path in
detail from start point.
Suppose goal is
to climb to the peak of a mountain, but there’s no trail to follow, head directly towards the peak until one reaches an obstacle one
can’t cross. Whenever one reaches such an obstacle, follow it
around to the right until one is able to head towards the peak once again.
This isn’t the most intelligent or comprehensive heuristic, but in many cases
it will work just fine and one will eventually reach the mountain peak.
Heuristics don’t
guarantee one will find the optimal solution, nor do they generally guarantee a
solution at all. But they do a good enough job of solving certain
types of problems to be useful. Their strength is that they break the
deadlock of indecision and get into action. As one takes action one
begins to explore the solution space, which deepens understanding of the
problem. As one gains knowledge about the problem, one can make
course corrections along the way, gradually improving chances of finding a solution. If
one tries to solve a problem one doesn’t initially know how to solve, one
will often figure out a solution as one goes, one could never have
imagined until he started moving. This is especially true with creative
work where solutions are not readily known. Often one doesn’t even know
exactly what he is trying to build until he starts building it.
Heuristics have
many practical applications and one of favorite areas of application is
personal productivity. Productivity heuristics are behavioral
rules (some general, some situation-specific) that can help in getting
things done more efficiently. Here are some of them.
1.
Nuke it - The most
efficient way to get through a task is to delete it. If it doesn’t need
to be done, get it off to do list. It may seem to be difficult as people have
emotions attached to tasks. Many times, one may get an answer like; it is to be
done as it was done yesterday.
2.
Daily goals - Without a clear focus, it’s
too easy to succumb to distractions. Set targets for each day in
advance. Decide what one will do; then do it.
3.
Worst first - To defeat
procrastination learn to tackle most unpleasant task, do it as the first thing
in the morning instead of delaying it until later in the day. This small
victory will set the tone for a very productive day.
4.
Peak times - Identify peak
cycles of productivity and schedule most important tasks for those times.
Work on minor tasks during non-peak times.
5.
No-communication zones - Allocate
uninterruptible blocks of time for solo work where one must
concentrate. Schedule light, interruptible tasks for open-communication
periods and more challenging projects for no-communication periods.
6.
Mini-milestones - When one begins a
task, identify the target that must be reached before one can stop working.
7.
Timeboxing - Give oneself a
fixed time period, like 30 minutes, to make a dent in a task. Don’t worry
about how far one gets. Just put in the time.
8.
Batching - Batch similar
tasks like phone calls or errands into a single chunk and knock them off in a
single session.
9.
Early bird - Get up early in
the morning and go straight to work on most important task. One can often
get more done than most people do in a day.
10. Cone of silence - Take
a laptop with no network or WiFi access and go to a place where one can work
flat out without distractions, such as a library, park, coffee house or
one’s own backyard. Leave communication gadgets behind.
11. Tempo - Deliberately
pick up the pace and try to move a little faster than usual. Speak
faster. Walk faster. Type faster. Read faster. Go home
sooner.
12. Relaxify - Reduce
stress by cultivating a relaxing, clutter-free workspace.
13. Agendas -
Provide clear written agendas to meeting participants in advance. This
greatly improves meeting focus and efficiency. One can use it for phone
calls too.
14. Pareto - The
Pareto principle is the 80-20 rule, which states that 80% of the value of a
task comes from 20% of the effort. Focus energy on that critical 20% and
don’t overengineer the non-critical 80%.
15. Ready-fire-aim - Bust
procrastination by taking action immediately after setting a goal, even if the
action isn’t perfectly planned. One can always adjust course along the
way.
16. Minuteman - Once
one has the information needed to make a decision, start a timer and give
oneself just 60 seconds to make the actual decision. Take a whole minute
to vacillate and second-guess oneself all one wants, but come out the other end
with a clear choice. Once decision is made, take some kind of action to
set it in motion.
17. Deadline - Set
a deadline for task completion and use it as a focal point to stay on track.
18. Promise - Tell
others of commitments, since they’ll help hold one accountable.
19. Punctuality - Whatever
it takes, show up on time. Arrive early.
20. Gap reading - Use
reading to fill in those odd periods like waiting for an appointment, standing
in line or while the coffee is brewing.
21. Resonance - Visualize
goal as already accomplished. Put oneself into a state of actually being
there. Make it real in mind and one’ll soon see it in reality.
22. Glittering prizes - Give
oneself frequent rewards for achievement. See a movie, book a
professional massage or spend a day at an amusement park.
23. Quadrant 2 - Separate
the truly important tasks from the merely urgent. Allocate blocks of
time to work on the critical Quadrant 2 tasks, those, which are important but
rarely urgent, such as physical exercise, writing a book and finding a
relationship partner.
24. Continuum - At
the end of workday, identify the first task one’ll work on the next day and set
out the materials in advance. The next day begin working on that
task immediately.
25. Slice and dice - Break
complex projects into smaller, well-defined tasks. Focus on completing
just one of those tasks.
26. Single-handling - Once
one begins a task, stick with it until it’s 100% complete. Don’t switch
tasks in the middle. When distractions come up, jot them down to be dealt
with later.
27. Randomize - Pick
a totally random piece of a larger project and complete it. Pay one
random bill. Make one phone call. Write page 42 of book.
28. Insanely bad - Defeat
perfectionism by completing task in an intentionally terrible fashion, knowing
one need never share the results with anyone. Write a blog post about the
taste of salt, design a hideously dysfunctional web site or create a
business plan that guarantees a first-year bankruptcy. With a
truly horrendous first draft, there’s nowhere to go but up.
29. 30 days -
Identify a new habit one would like to form and commit to sticking with it for
just 30 days. A temporary commitment is much easier to keep than a
permanent one.
30. Delegate -
Convince someone else to do it.
31. Cross-pollination - Sign
up for martial arts, start a blog or join an improve group. One will
often encounter ideas in one field that can boost performance in
another.
32. Intuition -
Go with gut instinct. It’s probably right.
33. Optimization -
Identify the processes one uses most often and write them down
step-by-step. Refactor them on paper for greater efficiency. Then
implement and test improved processes. Sometimes we just can’t see what’s
right in front of us until we examine it under a microscope.