Marijuana Trumps Blackberries for Productivity
Does email make you less productive? Tim Ferris says yes and suggests checking your email a couple times a day.
In 2005, a psychiatrist at King’s College in London administered IQ tests to three groups: the first did nothing but perform the IQ test, the second was distracted by e-mail and ringing phones, and the third was stoned on marijuana. Not surprisingly, the first group did better than the other two by an average of 10 points. The e-mailers, on the other hands, did worse than the stoners by an average of 6 points.
I’m certain this is true. The first thing I used to with a new email set-up was to have it check for new mail every minute so I was never out of the loop. A loop being an apt description because all I was doing was spinning my wheels;
work -> read email -> back to work (what was I doing again?).
Have your email app check for mail once every hour or less. It’s hard enough to keep a bunch of method names and variables in your noggin without email getting in the way.
Now if I can just get my blog reading down to once a day I’ll be super productive :)
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Interesting you should mention cannabis in the context of productivity - the clichéd view is that cannabis makes you lazy and puts you into a vegetativ state.
I actually find that a small bowl, vaporised, not smoked of sativa (not indica) can do wonders if used sparingly. I work for my self and there have been times when I’m struggling to engage with the work in front of me when some vaped herb allows for a solid work session.
And yes, I’m serious.
Comment by tantraman — April 23, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
I don’t understand the title of this post. So what makes you less productive, marijuana or a blackberry?
Comment by Avi — April 23, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
I updated the post with a quote from the linked article, using a blackberry (with it’s email/phone distractions) turned out to be less productive than doing the same work on marijuana.
Comment by KreeK — April 23, 2007 @ 5:17 pm
I’m w/Avi……the point of that post was to do more MaryJane and test better, or smoke some while deleting emails? well, either way, quit smoking that shuat and unblock tomo from jer IM.
Comment by tomo_atlacatl — April 25, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
Tomo you are blocked from IM cause you’re a “time burglar” :P (I turned IM off too, I’m now a hermit, a highly productive hermit).
—
Lisa: [runs into Bart’s room]
Bart, Bart! Krusty just fired his associate producer.
Bart: [looking up from his book] I’m reading.
Lisa: No way. [looks at book cover] The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective Pre-Teens? Is this all because of the …
[pantomimes gulping pills, and then walking like a zombie]
Bart: Joke if you will, but did you know most people use 10% of
their brains? I am now one of them. Before, my energy was
all over the place. Now, it’s concentrated like a laser
beam. [stands up] Well, this has been terrific. Let’s do
it again sometime.
Lisa: Are you standing up to get me to leave?
Bart: It’s from the book.
Lisa: [reads] Hey, I’m not a time burglar.
—
Comment by KreeK — April 25, 2007 @ 2:20 pm
So this is what you do with your time… talking about illicit drugs and quoting the Simpsons.
My how some things change and other things just stay the same.
Comment by IGOR — May 1, 2007 @ 5:50 am
all those tests are inaccurate in my opinion , people react differently when they smoke marijuana and in the end its a stimulant, and who high or tipsy on something would be able to take such an exam,what about letting someone get drunk and then let them take the those tests and say , look they did bad on the test because the alcohol killed their braincells.Most of those exams are just another propaganda against marijuana.
Comment by holysmokes — January 28, 2008 @ 6:03 am