More Output, Less Effort

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I have returned from paternity leave with a sense of doom. Not professionally—Every has not gone bankrupt in my two-month absence. Not parentally, either—my child is beautiful and happy. Not even with regard to my personal grooming—well, on that front, I am fatter and scruffier, but my dad bod is a freshly earned privilege.

Instead, my sense of doom stems from the realization of how much I must accomplish. It’s surely a common feeling among new parents, but bridging the gap between what is expected of me and what my time permits feels impossible given the addition of a child into what was once a careful balancing act. Perhaps you have felt the same. Our world is hard. It is tough to get by, let alone get ahead. To provide all that you need while also succeeding professionally and taking care of yourself is challenging. In other words: The scruff might be here to stay.

To resolve this conundrum, I initially turned to ye olde favorites of the neurotic type A-hole: goal-setting and self-loathing. If I could simply “lock in” a little more, hustle harder, make one more new year's resolution, find one perfect note-taking system to rule them all, then surely I could accomplish everything I wanted. But, after a few hours of color-coordinating my calendar, I concluded that I was being stupid.

Rather than rely on internal motivation, I should rely on external automation. After all, self-hatred is a well that can run dry, but software never runs out of steam. So, for the last six months, I’ve systematically reworked each part of my personal technology stack, looking for ways to automate and improve my health, leisure, work, and more.

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In doing so, I’ve dramatically improved my output, both personally and professionally. The funny thing is that it has been embarrassingly easy to do. I’ve used the fundamental tools of knowledge work my whole life, armed with code, spreadsheets, and email. But I feel a bit of shame that I never bothered to optimize my personal stack further. Still, I have repented, and am happier and more productive.

If you are feeling like me and would like to get more done with less effort, here are the eight pieces of technology that have changed my life over the last year...

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