Winning = Increasing APM
Yesterday I wrote about gamification of your day.
Did you ever notice that when Steve Jobs was alive, he always wore the same outfit every day?
It was his uniform. Jeans and a black turtleneck.
In fact, it is hard to find a photo of him not wearing that uniform.
I found myself thinking about this after hearing on the news how Apple became the first publicly traded company to reach over a trillion dollars in value.
It’s quite impressive when you think about how 20 years ago, they were fighting for survival, laying off over a third of their employees, and Microsoft and others dominated the scene.
It’s my understanding that Steve Jobs wore the same outfit each day so that he didn’t need to think about what he would wear that day. He was trying to eliminate the wasted bandwidth of his brain so he could focus on what really mattered.
Seems kind of silly as a spectator of his life.
But I get it.
I spent 4 years at a college where I had to wear a Navy uniform every day.
I almost didn’t attend that Maritime Academy, because at 19 years old the thought of having to wear a military uniform each day at college seemed so… militant.
But as it turned out, I really liked not having to think about what I wore each day. I could be up and out the door so quickly. I had 2 or 3 sets of my daily uniform which would get me through the week.
Until you take away that decision of “What am I going to wear today?” you don’t really see or appreciate how much time and mental energy goes into that.
Yesterday, I wrote about gamifying your day and week to improve your productivity.
https://www.facebook.com/miketurnerboise/videos/10212720519871727/
In a sense, Steve Jobs choosing to wear the same outfit each day was basically him gamifying his day.
I like the idea of turning something that seems like a chore or daily inconvenience into a game.
Games are fun. We naturally like to win games. It feels good to win a game.
But there is more to it than that.
Have you ever played a game with someone on a whole different level than you?
Whether it was chess or the latest game on a PlayStation.
It can be instantly apparent that some people are playing on a whole different level of comprehension and skill.
Their APM (actions per minute) might be 100-200. While yours might be just at 10-20.
Which means they can beat you quickly, often before you know you are even in trouble.
The cool part about games is that with intentional practice you can improve your own APM. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent work, you will raise your APM, and therefore be able to play a game on a higher level.
Some people, like Steve Jobs, take this to extremes.
But I’m digging the idea of gamifying my daily productivity.
We all have the same amount of time each day. But if we can level up and operate on a higher APM we can accomplish so much more with the same set of hours.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean I’m going to start wearing the same thing each day. LOL!
But I am dead set on specifically working on increasing my APM.
We are all short on time. Busy. Busy. Busy.
Increasing our APM, aka daily productivity, is how we add magically add more time to our day.
More time to spend with loved ones, go to the gym, visit friends, go on vacation, and even more time to lounge on the couch.
Do you have tricks or tools to help your daily productivity? I love to hear them.
Cheers,
Mike Turner
0 Comments