From the Editor

Do you know that this is the last time we meet here? This issue of Productive! Magazine marks the end of our series. All the archive editions will be certainly kept online so that you can always come back to your favorite articles and recommend them to the people who might need some inspiration or advice.

That uncomfortable feeling

You might be wondering why I decided to close down the publication. In brief: I want to focus on only the crucial projects of mine, meaning - those directly related to Nozbe. I’ve determined that I can’t get distracted by doing the tasks that won’t take me any closer to my main goals. I’ve always felt badly working on tasks like that. Whenever I got really involved with them, I felt guilty about not using my energy to accomplish the most important, company-related goals. And when I wasn’t truly engaged, I was angry with myself for not doing my best. If you happen to know this feeling, try to follow my steps and become really selective about the stuff you decide to work on. If you don’t have problems like that - congratulations! But I encourage you to analyze your projects in terms of your yearly goals anyway :-)

Being honest with yourself

In order to make tough decisions like that and cease the projects you like (i.e., to stop doing the things you’ve been doing for years or to split up with the people you respect), you have to be painfully honest with yourself. Otherwise you will never be able to select the crucial goals and projects. Because you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Trade-offs cost you some trouble but they are inevitable.

Essentialism - the key to real productivity

I’ve already written about what real productivity means to me, and I’ve explained that it’s not about “more and faster” but about optimizing your actions and saving precious time. Another important “ingredient” here is choosing the right tasks - like essentialism.

The key rules of essentialism

Further in this issue of Productive! Magazine, you will find my article on essentialism where I try to present the theory of essentialism formulated by Greg McKeown in his Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less book. And most importantly, you will read the interview with Greg himself personally explaining his ideas.

He always emphasises that we should be doing less but better. He also warns that if we don’t prioritize our stuff, someone else will … And then their priorities will take control over ours.

Four “E’s” constitute the process of essentialism according to Greg: Essence, Explore, Eliminate and Execute. The goal is to do less, but better.

Invitation

So don’t wait any longer. Move on to the interview with Greg McKeown and the articles that you will find interesting and relevant to your current situation.

I also encourage you to visit the Nozbe blog from time to time. We plan to share more of the timeless entries on productivity and self-development over there from now on. We will be happy to publish your articles or tips, too!

I hope we stay in touch. I’m waiting for your news at sliwinski.com.

Meet the essentialistic Productive! Magazine team :)

Execution: Magda Błaszczyk
Editing: Emily Derr, McKinley Coles and Daniella Conley
Design: Radek Kozieł, Hubert Tereszkiewicz
Technology: Radek Pietruszewski and Tomasz Kapelak
Video editing: Marcin Hinz
Vision (that’s me!): Michael Sliwinski