From the Editor

Michael Sliwinski — №21 with Pat Flynn

Looking for a productivity token

How do you know if someone is truly productive? Does he or she have the newest iPhone with a whole range of top productivity apps? Or maybe it is the neatest desk and the best “mind maps” that make one uber-productive? Or the amount of the productivity-related books they read? Or the variety of super-practical tips this person can provide in a short conversation?

What uber-productive people do differently

In this issue of Productive! Magazine, you are going to learn what the most productive people are doing differently. You are going to read about really great optimizing and automating processes that Pat Flynn employs to have his businesses working for him. Sara Caputo has a list of five differences between average and uber-productive people. You can hang this list on the fridge door and try to tick off from top to bottom. I am sure you can make it. I guess we can all make it if we are persistent and concentrate hard enough. Also, Les Taylor prepared a really pertinent catalog of four skills every “Outperformer” has.

That “something”

What is the thing that seems to encompass and join all these elements? Something that you can easily spot from the outside?

For me, it is sort of a peace and equanimity that stems from the trust the uber-productive people can place in the system and processes they’ve built. This calmness is also founded on the habits that are so deeply rooted in their lifestyle and work style that they seem to be as natural as breathing. Thanks to these trusted structures, really productive people have space for being relaxed, spontaneous and helpful. They don’t need to feel the guilt (that Grace Marshall describes, as if she x-rayed our minds). You know you can trust such people and rely on them.

Watch the interviews I did with people I admire and observe it yourself. Most of them has this “something.” You can feel it and try to absorb it, but it won’t stay with you for a long time unless you have the system and habits you can really trust.

Read the articles by Patrik Edblad (who writes about forming habits) and by Goncalo Gil Mata (who prepared the first article of the series on building your personal productivity system) and start working on creating the structures that will save you time and effort in the future.

Do you know a really productive person? What is so special about her or him? Do you agree with my observations? E-mail me at editor@productivemag.com.

Meet the team

All members of the Productive! Magazine team are young, but they constantly work on building their own trusted systems. I am sure they will all gain the level of peace I am talking about really soon. I’d like to thank them for being here and doing a great job in delivering this magazine to you. Feel free to contact us and share your thoughts and impressions. We would be delighted to hear from you!

Execution: Magda Błaszczyk
Editing: James Tonn, Emily Derr
Design: Radek Kozieł
Technology: Radek Pietruszewski and Tomasz Kapelak
Video editing: Rafał Meszka
Vision (that’s me!): Michael Sliwinski

Michael sliwinski

Michael Sliwinski

Michael Sliwinski is the editor of the Productive! Magazine, the founder of Nozbe (a time and project management application for busy professionals), and the best-selling author of the #iPadOnly book.

Visit Michael's blog Follow @MSliwinski on Twitter Check out his book: #iPadOnly