Zero-Friction Productivity
Lessons from a burner phone for those of us who want to work smarter.
I know a person who struggles to stay in touch with her family and friends. The issue isn’t her desire to stay connected. Rather, it’s her ability to maintain a cell phone contract. I’ll skip the backstory for now but let’s just say it’s complicated.
As a result, she goes from burner phone to burner phone. Her friends and family never know how best to reach her.
There is a ton of friction in her life as a result of this dynamic. It’s not what she wants but it’s also not something that she knows how to change.
For a lot of us, this don’t-know-how-to-change dynamic is common.
We want to lose 15 pounds but…
We want to save more money but…
We want to tackle email more thoughtfully but…
We want to have a better prayer life but…
There’s a lot of “buts” that fill our days if we’re honest about it. Friction has a way of doing this to us. It simply wears us down until we stop trying.
I can relate. Having experienced a major job change in the last six months, my entire workflow and productivity mindset has changed. I don’t have the margin of time and flexibility that I used to. No complaints here as I chose this and am grateful for every day in which I am able to serve the schools that I do.
As a result, I’ve come to appreciate the places that are frictionless. These include the blog feature on Hey World, the smooth entry of Day One and the beauty of praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I just don’t have to try in each of these spaces. I just do/pray/act/think.
Tools that help us do this are most valuable to us. Apple is famous for making products that “just work” and while their track record isn’t perfect, this realization speaks to us. Who among us has ever rented a car and wondered why a certain button isn’t placed more intuitively? We want things that just work. This is a deep-seated appeal to zero-friction living.
As it relates to my blogging here at the site, I’ll be exploring some changes that help me so simply write. I don’t want to do much editing and likely won’t be sending out email newsletters. I just want to do/pray/act/think without the friction of polishing up the edges.
How about you? Which area of your work or prayer life can use some simplification? Which tool is a pain in your butt that can be eliminated today?