What’s in Your Special Sauce?

April 19th, 2008 — Justin

In a great roundup post at Study Hacks Cal Newport reveals & recaps the unique blend of productivity strategies he’s using to cope with a tough semester. He calls his personal mix his “special sauce.” He covers all the bases, from the day-to-day grind (”Without an autopilot schedule I think I would drown in a sea of small but time-consuming tasks”) to the wide-angle lens of life strategy and happiness:

“Happiness takes work. I didn’t realize this in college. But I’ve come to appreciate it more and more as I get older. I now go out of my way to forcefully integrate many of these principles into my daily routine. My thought: life will never be perfect, so stop focusing on what you wish you had, and starting getting the most out of what you do.”

My special sauce takes a solid GTD Moleskine base, throws in a dash of mindful awareness, and finishes simply with a todo.txt file. What’s in your special sauce?

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3 Responses to “What’s in Your Special Sauce?”

  1. Jess Says:
    April 19th, 2008 at 9:23 am

    That quote on happiness is pretty fantastic. Cal never fails to have great posts and great quotes.

    My special sauce involves Google Calendar and a steno pad that goes with me everywhere.

  2. Ted Pin Says:
    April 19th, 2008 at 10:24 am

    My combination of software and realware comprises:

    - Basecamp.com. I use it to manage all my projects, including life to-dos (like scheduling vacations, etc).
    - Gmail. Since I spend a lot of time at work, I send reminders to myself via email.
    - Cowon A3 media player with sound isolating headphones. This great little unit keeps me informed (via podcasts) entertained, and insulated from distractions so I can stay “in the zone” all day.
    - Trusty IBM T42 laptop and extended battery. Goes with me everywhere, does everything I want.

  3. Justin Says:
    April 19th, 2008 at 11:41 am

    @Jess: Yep, Cal always uncaps the good stuff!

    @Ted: The sound-isolating headphones are a nice touch. It seems like you’ve got a nice (and mobile!) “in the zone” environment.

    I oversimplified my own sauce a bit in this post: all told I also work with Gmail, Jott, and a “Someday/Maybe.txt” file.

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