I found another of Cal Newport’s gems that fits quite well into the 2Time way of thinking. Getting Creative Things Done: How to Fit Hard Thinking into a Busy Schedule.
In this post he makes the point that the best way to get quality, creative work done is to set aside dedicated time in one’s schedule, which is the equivalent of 2Time’s Orange Belt level of skill in Scheduling.
The only difference of opinion I have with this excellent article is that it’s not only about hard, creative work that academics do. Business professionals at all levels aren’t simply paid to do something without thinking. Instead, managers hope that they are also working on their job, not just in their job… improving it, streamlining it, cutting costs, etc.
This kind of continuous improvement comes from using the kind of techniques he describes, which means that this skill has much wider implications on professional productivity than he indicates.
Here it is again: Getting Creative Things Done: How to Fit Hard Thinking into a Busy Schedule