|||

PTPL 065 · On Clarifying Your Most Basic Productivity Foundations

With a reminder that stepping stones don’t need to be made of polished marble

It’s vital that the foundations of what you do are crystal clear, to anyone you work with, but especially to yourself. Also, a reminder that not everything needs polishing to shining perfection.


Perfect imperfection

Making quality work is important, but so is protecting your budding efforts from being strangled by misplaced perfectionism.

Fun Fact: I’ve never cared about being a good programmer. I care about solving problems. It’s amazing how many problems can be solved by mediocre programming. — Greg Pierce, maker of Drafts

Is there something you’re working on that never seems good enough, but which is actually just fine as it stands?

This principle is not an excuse for shoddy workmanship; it’s a reminder that some stepping stones will do the same job whether they’re made of roughly hewn rock, or polished marble.

Save your polishing cloth for the things that really require that level of attention.

The profound importance of making your foundations clear

When I was out walking with my sister the other morning, she expressed her frustration that while she wants to support the work I do as a writer, she doesn’t understand the first thing about it.

After I explained that PTPL stands for Plain Text, Paper-Less, and means that I write about how to keep your notes in a format that you control, while also using as much paper as you need (and no more), she said something that I am certain will shape my future direction as a writer.

But I don’t even know what plain text is!”

Gobsmacked, and feeling a little foolish, I fell silent.

look closely at the connections your productivity hinges on

Many years ago I heard of a mother whose child loved to run out of the house and go and sit on the corner, watching the people and cars go by. Justifiably alarmed by this behaviour, the mother sternly warned her child not to go to the corner. Obediently, the child nodded, and sincerely said they would not. But the behaviour continued, time and time again.

And so the mother shouted, threatened, and then soundly punished her offspring for each successive misdeed. How many times do I have to tell you,” the mother remonstrated, not go to the corner!”

After a particularly painful punishment, the child burst out through their tears, What’s a corner’?” It was a parenting lesson I never forgot, and, it seems, this anecdote is continuing to provide valuable insights.

As I fumbled with an analogy that would make sense to my sister (a CPAP — sleep apnoea — consultant by profession), finally her face lit up.

Oh!” She said. That’d be like someone getting used to a CPAP mask that only works with one machine, instead of one that works with all the different brands!”

Hey presto! It made sense at last, because she was able to establish a connection with something she already understood.

I invite you this week to look closely at the connections your productivity hinges on. Whether you work alone, or with others, are there any foundational concepts that could do with clarifying at their most basic level?


💬 Comment on Mastodon · or by email


A beige page with stylised white lines sits at an angle on the left on a white background, with black text overlaying it that reads Plain text. Paper, less PRODUCTIVITY DIGEST

Follow my RSS feed, or sign up to receive posts in your inbox

Up next PTPL 064 · When Calendars are Time Machines, and iPads are reMarkable How Setapp Saves Me Hundreds of Dollars Every Year
Latest posts PTPL 155 · The Moleskine Cahier Layout That Dethroned the Wonderland222 PTPL 154 · Spaced Repetition in One Plain Text File PTPL 153 · Working With the Garage Door Up Is Great (But You Might Want to Get Dressed First) PTPL 152 · Append, Not Prepend, if You Want to Craft a Dashboard at the Top of Your Daily Notes One Big Text File - the What and the Why Yes, Plain Text Friends, Some Open Formats Are Opener Than Others PTPL 151 · Why the Openest of Open Formats Isn’t the One for Me PTPL 150 · Simplicity Is Great but There’s a Key Lesson in This Genius Complexity PTPL 149 · 3 Tiny PKM-Themed Wisdom Snippets to Beat Digital and Analog Overwhelm PTPL 148 · How to Keep Your Googly Eyes on Your Mouse Pointer (and Off Google) There is Peace in Boundaries PTPL 147 · This Is Why You Might Want to Keep Multiple Daily Notes as Well as an OBTF PTPL 146 · Please Leave Me Alone, I’m Deliberately Distracted Changing From Hledger to Beancount PTPL 145 · Folders or Tags or Index Pages? They’re Tools, Not a Debate PTPL 144 · Browser Switching Time! Bye-Bye Arc, Hello Vivaldi PTPL 143 · You Don’t Need Any of the 6 Drafts App Alternatives I’ve Been Playing With Lately PTPL 142 · Done-for-You Markdown Dates for Organising an OBTF Calendar Headers for 2025 OBTF - Sunday Start Calendar Headers for 2025 OBTF - Monday Start PTPL 141 · Using todo.txt in Obsidian (Or Wherever You Like), Part 2 PTPL 140 · Using todo.txt in Obsidian (Or Wherever You Like), Part 1 PTPL 139 · 2 Proprietary Apps Designed to Set Your Data Free PTPL 138 · Daily Notes Don’t Need to Live in Separate Files PTPL 137 · There’s only One Right Way to Type the Date PTPL 136 · Why Do New Year’s Resolutions? Every Day is Already a Fresh Start PTPL 135 · This is Why To Do Apps Fail and What I’m Using Instead PTPL 134 · Paper, or Paperless? Yes Please Kindness, Hope, and a Christmas Carol from Me to You PTPL 133 · Eventually Consistent: a PKM Allegory on Taking Imperfect Action Now PTPL 132 · Happy To Do Lists · Better Queries in Obsidian · Trip Template · Avoiding App Lock-in
... ... ... ...