Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

by Cal Newport

SIMULATED PULL, PART 1: HOLDING TANK AND ACTIVE LISTS The first step in simulating a pull-based workflow is tracking all projects to which you’re currently committed on a list divided into two sections: “holding tank” and “active.” (The format used for storing this list doesn’t really matter. You can use a text file on your computer, for example, or an old-fashioned notebook: whatever you find easiest.) Recall, when I say “projects,” I mean something substantial enough to require multiple sessions to complete. (Strategies for containing smaller commitments, which we call “tasks,” were discussed in the preceding proposition.) When a new project is pushed toward you, place it in the holding-pen section of your list. There is no bound to the size of your holding tank. The active position of the list, by contrast, should be limited to three projects at most. When scheduling your time, you should focus your attention only on the projects on your active list. When you complete one of these projects, you can remove it from your list. This leaves open a free slot that you can fill by pulling in a new project from the holding tank. For larger projects, you might want to instead pull onto your active list a reasonable chunk of work toward its completion. For example, if “write book” is in your holding tank, and a free slot opens up on your active list, you might pull in “write next chapter of book” to work on next. In this case, the larger project, “write book,” would remain in the ...