Charlie Gilkey, a former Army officer and PhD in philosophy, shares his expertise on productivity. He delves into common roadblocks like prioritization issues and mental clutter that prevent project completion. The conversation highlights the importance of confronting 'head trash' and overcoming 'thrashing' behaviors. Gilkey also discusses effective goal-setting with the SMART framework, the concept of momentum planning, and how community support can bolster personal achievements. Tune in for practical insights on getting things done!
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Prioritize Important Things
Focus on doing fewer things but doing the important things.
Prioritize the work of your life, not just economic work, to avoid feeling unfulfilled.
insights INSIGHT
Competing Priorities
We often have competing priorities, some our own and some from others.
It's important to distinguish between the two to achieve our goals.
insights INSIGHT
Head Trash
"Head trash", or self-defeating stories, can hinder project completion, even if untrue.
Address these negative thoughts to unlock your potential and achieve goals.
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Michael Bungay Stanier's "Do More Great Work" helps readers identify and focus on tasks that truly matter. The book categorizes work into three types: great, good, and bad, encouraging readers to eliminate bad work and increase great work. Stanier provides practical exercises and frameworks to help readers clarify their priorities and improve their productivity. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding one's strengths and passions to achieve greater fulfillment and success. It's a valuable guide for individuals and organizations seeking to improve their work-life balance and achieve meaningful results.
Start Finishing
Charlie Gilkey
In 'Start Finishing', Charlie Gilkey offers a systematic approach to productivity, focusing on converting ideas into actionable projects and completing them. The book provides strategies like 'chunking', 'linking', and 'sequencing' to manage projects effectively. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, setting meaningful goals, and creating a supportive environment to achieve success.
How well did you do in completing projects last year? Not just work projects, but also personal projects surrounding family, fitness, or hobbies. If you didn't accomplish as much as you'd like, then maybe you need to change up your mindset and tactics in the new year.
My guest today has written a guide to making those changes. His name is Charlie Gilkey and he's a former Army officer with a PhD in philosophy who's spent over a decade studying productivity, writing about it on his website Productive Flourishing, and coaching clients in what he's learned. He now has a book out as well: Start Finishing: How to Go From Idea to Done. Charlie and I begin our conversation going through the most common roadblocks that prevent people from completing their projects, including following other people's priorities and dealing with what he calls "head trash." We then discuss how we waste a lot of time doing what Charlie calls "thrashing' and what we can do to overcome it. We then dig into why you sometimes have to quit things to move forward, how to create effective goals, and why it's crucial to know which of three levels of success you're aiming for. We also talk about how to do what Charlie calls "momentum planning" and the importance of creating focus blocks in your schedule.
The Art of Manliness 
