‘Pushing pennies‘ – an interesting post from Rob Kitchin on working on multiple projects, structured rest and general organisation.

Several times a year I’m asked: ‘how do you get it all done?’, ‘Are there two of you?’, ‘Do you sleep?’ and similar variations concerning productivity.  I always find the questions awkward and embarrassing to answer. In part, because from my perspective I don’t particularly feel overly productive, though I’m fully aware my output profile is different to most. In part, because some of the answers are not really what people want to hear: I think they’d prefer it if I said I worked all-hours and didn’t sleep, whereas I probably work no more hours or maybe less than they do. Anyway, I thought I’d write a post I can refer people to, which elucidates how I work and why I manage to get things done relatively efficiently. They are certainly not my ‘rules’ for others to follow or aspire to, nor an attempt to promote a way of working. They are simply an explanation. They are not in any particular order, though I think the first, second, and the last are key. [continues here]

It’s important to note his disclaimer – both in this opening paragraph, and in the final lines – that this is not a set of rules or guidelines for others, but lots of interesting ideas here.