Thinking in minutes enhances productivity by utilizing short intervals effectively.
Practicing deliberate incuriosity challenges conventions to streamline processes and focus on meaningful endeavors.
Balancing professional and personal pursuits involves envisioning long-term impact on daily choices and setting intentional goals.
Deep dives
Strategies for a Creative and Productive Life
Matthew Dix shares strategies from his book 'Some Day as to Day' focusing on how thinking in minutes, practicing deliberate incuriosity, and being an eagle rather than a mouse can improve productivity and creativity. By envisioning the impact of current decisions on his 100-year-old self, he emphasizes the long-term perspective in guiding daily choices, promoting a balance between professional and personal pursuits.
Time Management and Maximizing Efficiency
Dix advocates for thinking in minutes to utilize even short intervals effectively. He suggests making a list of tasks achievable in ten minutes and emphasizes the importance of minimizing time spent on routine activities to focus on meaningful endeavors. By prioritizing time through intentional choices and strategic planning, individuals can optimize their productivity and free up more time for important activities.
Challenging Conventional Norms for Efficiency
Encouraging intentional incuriosity and occasional rule-breaking, Dix highlights the benefits of questioning unnecessary conventions and routines. By adopting a 'see what happens' mindset and challenging the status quo, individuals can identify redundant tasks, streamline processes, and allocate more time and energy to activities that truly align with their goals and values.
Embracing Imperfection in Creation
Successful individuals often begin by making mistakes and creating terrible things before achieving success. The story of Richard Branson's failed parakeet-selling business exemplifies this journey from failure to success. Embracing the process of making mistakes is crucial in creative endeavors and allows for growth and eventual success.
Focusing on Personal Growth and Self-Reflection
Taking time for self-reflection and pursuing personal dreams are essential for individual growth. By identifying personal aspirations and actively chasing them, one can break free from stagnation and lead a more fulfilling and purposeful life. This process involves introspection and setting goals to move towards a brighter future.
Matthew Dicks wears a lot of hats. Among other things, he's a storyteller, communications consultant, writer, and schoolteacher. In order to excel in his professional life, as well as do what he loves in his personal life, he's developed a set of strategies that help him be more creative and productive, and can be used by anyone who wants to start making the most of life.
Matt writes about these tactics and mindset shifts in his latest book Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life, and he shares some of them with us today on the show, including why you need to think in minutes, be an eagle rather than a mouse, practice deliberate incuriosity, and always do your best to act like a decent human being. Along the way, Matt and I talk about why you should floss in the shower and how restaurants that make guacamole at your table are a great example of the folly of making a thing, a thing.