Recently I watched Scott Hanselman’s presentation at Webstock 2012 titled It’s Not What You Read, It’s What You Ignore. It’s a great video on productivity.

I’ve done a number of talks on Productivity in the past. Lots of folks ask me what my tips are for being productive. I’ve taken all those tips as well as tips from Kathy Sierra, Stephen Covey, David Allen, The Pomodoro Technique and many more and aggregated them into a system that works well for me. I talk about how to effectively handle large amounts email, sorting your personal data stream, how to conserve your keystrokes, the “one email rule” that you need to be effective.

I found many points quite useful such as taking control of your inbox. Since watching I have a much better grasp on what is important in my email inbox, after taking a few steps that Scott outlines. I would go into more detail but to be honest, you should just watch the video!

Programming is something that I really love, but I struggle communicating that to most people. I tried to show the video to my girlfriend because I was excited about it, but it just didn’t resonate with her like it had for me. Sometimes I feel like an alien from outer space, trying to communicate in a language that no one can understand. They can see my passion but I just can’t explain why I feel this way.

One of the things that really interested me in Scott’s talk was the idea of a 28 hour day. By doubling up activities that can be done together, like running on a treadmill and listening to a podcast for an hour, you gain an extra hour that day.

I don’t know if this counts, but I love gaming and learning, so I spent 45 minutes playing Diablo III and listening to This Developer’s Life. It was a really satisfying way to spend my time. Scott’s example was pairing something you like with something you don’t, so I guess that’s what I should aim for in future, instead of just indulging myself entirely.