Ali Abdaal, The Personal Productivity Assessment

The Personal Productivity Assessment

Metadata

• Author: Ali Abdaal
• Full Title: The Personal Productivity Assessment
• Category:articles
• Published Date: 2024-05-05
• Summary: The text discusses a personal productivity assessment with 20 questions to help evaluate time management skills. The questions cover areas like vision, prioritization, systems, and presence. The assessment provides a total score to identify areas for improvement in personal productivity.

Highlights

• 1. Do you have a life mission you want to achieve? (View Highlight)
• 2. Do you have a vision for your career? (View Highlight)
• 3. Do you have a consistent long-term review process? (View Highlight)
• 4. Do you have a consistent long-term planning process? (View Highlight)
• 5. Do you keep track of your projects? (View Highlight)
• 6. Do you plan and review your top priorities for the week? (View Highlight)
• 7. Do you plan and review your top priorities for the day? (View Highlight)
• 8. Do you work on your Top Priority first each day? (View Highlight)
• 9. Do you have control over your own schedule? (View Highlight)
• 10. Are you decisive? (View Highlight)
• 11. Do you leverage your time well? (View Highlight)
• 12. Do you manage and delegate well? (View Highlight)
• 13. Does your physical workspace inspire you? (View Highlight)
• 14. Do you track important metrics? (View Highlight)
• If it is important to your life or career, you are tracking it. Examples: health, time, habits, finances, business. (View Highlight)
  • Note: I feel like I already know this but still somehow struggle to implement it.
• 15. Do you have systems for learning? (View Highlight)
• 16. Do you start your day intentionally? (View Highlight)
• You have a consistent morning routine that sets a positive tone for the day. Examples: journaling, reading, planning, exercise, meditation, gratitude. (View Highlight)
  • Note: I used to do this, until I realized it’s extremely difficult to maintain each one of them. But I do get the benefits of each, it’s just that the maintenance work often feels really stressful at times. I could probably automate some of the things concerning those things here and there, but I’ll have to see. The only automated item in this list is my journaling process, lol. At least I think so, given my limited context of the article.
• 17. Are you focused? (View Highlight)
• 18. Do you prioritize your physical health? (View Highlight)
• 19. Do you prioritize mental health and recovery? (View Highlight)
• You take offline breaks. You have a diverse identity with hobbies and supportive friends. You have self-care practices to replenish your well-being. (View Highlight)
  • Note: I’m trying to re-implement the hobbies that I actually enjoy doing, such as reading and coding. I’ll look to re-introduce exercise soon, when my current health issues resolve (I’m having weird inflammation problems right now concerning some of my joints).
• 20. Do you finish your days effectively? (View Highlight)
• You tie up loose ends at the end of the workday. Your evenings set tomorrow up for success. You have clear separation between work and your personal life. (View Highlight)
  • Note: From Merriam Webster - tie up loose ends: “[T]o complete the parts of something that have not been completed”. To add, I feel rather confused when asked whether I have clear separation between my work and personal life. I feel like both of them are intertwined, in a way. Some of my leisure time is spent “upskilling” (some call it skill-stacking). Even then, I still legitimately enjoy doing the things I do for skill-stacking (like 3D motion graphics, for example).
• ”If you stumble at the start of a sprint, you’re likely going to lose the race. But if you stumble at the start of a marathon, it makes no difference. All that matters is that you’ve begun running.” (View Highlight)
  • Note: Interesting! From How to get started with difficult tasks by J.D.Roth.