Our Favorite Quotes and Tips from “Automate Your Busywork”
This year we decided to take our Swash Summer Reading to the next level with a company-wide book club! We read Automate Your Busywork: Do Less, Achieve More, and Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff by Aytekin Tank. Here are a few of our favorite quotes and takeaways for you to chew on.
Start with, and Stick to, Your Big Priority
“Instead of living for the tiny dopamine hit that comes with making an inconsequential checkmark, write down your big priority for the day on a sticky note. Post it where you’ll see it all day. Whenever you feel the nagging urge to check your email, scan the latest news headlines, or organize your pens—stop. Look at the sticky note. Refocus. Complete your day's hunt before looking at the lesser items.”
This was a bit of a lightbulb moment for us all. Put our top priority items first on our lists?! Who’da thought?
Don’t Assume You’ll “Just Remember”
“We forget the vast majority of the information we receive. Put simply, we tend to recall things that have meaning or that are presented in a clear and logical way—while we tend to forget things we don't try to commit to our long‐term memories.”
It turns out remembering things — and thus, completing them — requires some real organization. We all need to find our perfect systems that help us get things done.
Know that Every Action Affects Another
“Workflows are a series of interconnected steps that produce a result. Consider the steps you take to brush your teeth: grab your toothbrush, apply toothpaste, add water, brush, rinse, repeat. Some workflows, like teeth brushing, are linear, meaning they always follow the same series of steps, in the same order. The steps are connected—and rely on each other. We can't apply toothpaste if we've run out. Or we can't use the sink if it's clogged. These are the sorts of interconnections that can trip up our workflows.”
Where are we consistently “running out of toothpaste,” so to speak? We need to identify our small actions that affect the big ones.
Got a book on your shelf that changed the way you work? Let us know!
