№34 with Greg McKeown - the last (essential) issue of the Productive! Magazine

From the editor of the Productive! Magazine №34 with Greg McKeown: 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. In this post I’ll explain why and how we’re finishing off our magazine:

That uncomfortable feeling - closing down the magazine after 8+ years…

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 :-)

It’s all about being honest…

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 and watch 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.

It’s all there in the Productive! Magazine issue 34.

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!

Big thank you to my essentialistic Productive! Magazine team:

I’d like to thank Magda, my tireless magazine editor as she was the driving force behind the magazine. My fantastic contributors with special mention of Laura Stack who prepared an original article to almost every issue we published. To our proof-readers: Emily Derr, McKinley Coles, Daniella Conley, Lori Anderson and James Tonn. To Radek, my The Podcast co-host for the technology behind it. My other team members for support: Hubert, Radek K. and Tom. To my video editor Marcin and others who did this in the past and finally to Maciek “Mediafun” Budzich for the original inspiration and help with the first issues of the magazine. Thanks, it was a great ride!

Question: Which issue of the magazine did you enjoy most?