Focus on baking a larger pie.

Europe's Failed Super League Got One Thing Right

@bloomberg businessweek

You might wonder "what does sports league have to do with productivity, knowledge, or building businesses?" This morning, I wondered the same, but I kept reading the article I picked up in my Businessweek magazine. The last sentence caught my eye.

There’s more money to be made when anyone can win.

National Football League (NFL) has something called the "salary cap." It's a rule that limits how much teams can spend on player salaries ($182.5 million). The salary cap creates a level playing field for all teams. Most teams would have a fighting chance for the championship. Yet NFL stands to be the world's most profitable professional sports league, and one of its teams – the Dallas Cowboys – is the world's most valuable sports franchise. There's more money to be made when anyone can win. Focus on baking a larger pie. Play the positive-sum game. (read article)

Projects vs. Tasks: A Critical Distinction in Productive Scheduling

@cal newport – author of Deep Work and The World Without Email

There are two types of tasks. One is the concrete tasks. The required action is already defined, and it's necessary. These are the easy ones to track and manage. Then there are aspirational tasks. These are the other kind of tasks. They are ambiguous, with no clear definition of what to do. When you mix the two, you'll find your to-do list piling up. Instead, you should start labeling aspirational tasks as "projects." Things like "finish World Order" or "update landing page" aren't tasks. They are projects.

The distinction between projects and tasks may be subtle, but it is important to know the exact difference to maximize your productivity. (read article)