The perennial question we always get from obsessive Lifehacker readers: How are you actually more productive if you spend all your time looking for new ways to get stuff done?
In this week's episode of Work Smart 2, I got to give my best answer to that question. Bill Clark asks how you can actually work smarter when you spend a lot of time learning new productivity tricks. I share my favorite tool for keeping yourself honest, and then asked author of productivity bible Getting Things Done David Allen for his thoughts. (In short: there are worse ways to waste time.)
Press play on the 2-minute, 30-second video clip below.
During my research for this video, I went back to using RescueTime in earnest. The charts it generated, which show what programs you spend the most working in, are really insightful for anyone who wants to do more self-monitoring. If you're having a particularly rabbit-holey day, RescueTime's Growl notifications which say things like "You've spent 45 minutes on distracting activities" can help you get back on track, too. Even if they tempt you to just quit the program and keep reading Lady Gaga's Wikipedia entry anyway.
Work Smart Video: The Pitfall of Productivity Porn [Smarterware]