The hottest Productivity Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

From Charlie Munger to ChatGPT - The 'productivity gains' paradox

Platforms, AI, and the Economics of BigTech • 9 implied HN points • 08 Dec 24
💼 Business Productivity
  1. When companies see big productivity gains, it could mean they're losing their competitive edge in the long run. This happens because the benefits aren't always kept by the business, similar to how new technology can hurt original owners.
  2. It's important to figure out where productivity gains are coming from. If they're from the main product, the company might end up losing control and value, especially if they rely on outside suppliers.
  3. To stay ahead, businesses should focus on creating unique advantages with technology rather than just using it to improve what they already do. This way, they can keep more control over pricing and profits.

Applying the SPACE Framework

Engineering Enablement • 23 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. The SPACE Framework for developer productivity includes dimensions like satisfaction, performance, activity, communication, and efficiency.
  2. SPACE is useful for software organization leaders defining productivity, teams seeking comprehensive measurements, and leaders involving teams in productivity improvement.
  3. Implementing SPACE involves understanding various metrics, balancing workflow and perception measurements, and considering the holistic approach to developer productivity.

From Fear to Function: Rethinking Engineering Processes | Stytch’s Julianna Lamb

Dev Interrupted • 9 implied HN points • 26 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Having the right engineering process can actually boost your team's speed and help everyone take responsibility for their work. It's about finding the right balance, not too much or too little process.
  2. Many developers feel scared of strict processes, but a flexible approach can reduce problems and improve workflow. It's all about making processes work for your team, not against it.
  3. Using AI tools can improve productivity and keep developers focused on challenging tasks. Instead of replacing jobs, these tools help with repetitive work, allowing for better project focus.

The Ultimate Guide To Managing Your Ideas

Day One • 2 HN points • 16 Mar 24
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Ideas are the seeds of creation, and your environment plays a crucial role in nurturing them to grow.
  2. When managing ideas, learn all you can about them and document resources that come your way to prepare for when you can work on them.
  3. Create a roadmap for your ideas with skill-based and income-based milestones to maintain focus, prioritize tasks, and compound efforts for faster growth.

What causes 'bad days' for developers?

Engineering Enablement • 9 implied HN points • 25 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Engineers often have bad days due to issues with their tools and systems. Problems like unreliable tools or slow processes can make it tough to work efficiently.
  2. Having a bad day can lower a developer's productivity and increase their stress. Both senior and junior developers feel these effects, but in different ways; seniors may get frustrated, while juniors often doubt their abilities.
  3. Research confirmed that issues causing bad days also slow down work processes. Measuring things like how long it takes to complete tasks showed that these problems really affect productivity.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Are Only 20% of Devs Happy? | Stack Overflow’s Erin Yepis

Dev Interrupted • 9 implied HN points • 19 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Only about 20% of developers say they are happy in their jobs. This suggests many people in the field are feeling dissatisfied.
  2. Factors like low pay, workplace culture, and issues with technical debt are major reasons behind this unhappiness. It's important to look at these issues to help improve developer satisfaction.
  3. A new project called Flock aims to address problems with the popular Flutter toolkit. The creators want to make a community-driven platform that fixes bugs and speeds up development.

Ten ideas per day

A Bit Gamey • 33 implied HN points • 25 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Productivity
  1. Writing down 10 ideas per day can lead to new opportunities and success.
  2. Exercising our 'idea muscle' through daily idea generation enhances mental agility and creativity.
  3. Tips for generating 10 ideas per day include starting small, finding time to brainstorm freely, and suspending judgement on ideas.

AI Agents Are The New Flying Cars

Building Rome(s) • 3 implied HN points • 24 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Expect your first AI agent to fail; it's part of the learning journey. Each failure gives you important insights to improve.
  2. Think of AI tools as ongoing programs, not one-time projects. Start small, track your progress, and keep making improvements.
  3. Set clear expectations when using AI technology. It’s not just about getting it perfect, but about learning and evolving as you go.

Productivity on the go

Marlon’s Substack • 1 HN point • 17 May 24
🏝 Travel Productivity
  1. People living a nomadic lifestyle follow uncommon sets of rules, making them standout in their way of life.
  2. The 'New Rich' prioritize experiences over wealth, measuring their success by richness in travel experiences rather than monetary wealth.
  3. Those leading a location-independent lifestyle exhibit high levels of productivity fueled by dedication, motivation from deadlines, and a drive to do more.

Four ways to prioritise tasks and optimise productivity

A Bit Gamey • 6 implied HN points • 23 Feb 25
🚌 Education Productivity
  1. Use a triage system to prioritize tasks based on urgency and severity, similar to how medical teams manage injuries. It helps ensure that the most important tasks are handled first.
  2. Choose your productivity metric wisely. Whether it's deadlines, workload, completion speed, or task importance, the right focus can help you work smarter.
  3. Different strategies like prioritizing by deadlines or importance can help you manage tasks better. Each approach has its benefits, so pick the one that aligns with your goals.

TWH#55: Human Battery Drain

The Hagakure • 35 implied HN points • 20 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Productivity
  1. Human energy is hard to measure but important to manage in workplaces.
  2. Threats, constant context switching, and a workplace bias towards extroverts can drain human energy.
  3. Recognizing and addressing these energy drains can prevent burnout and help employees reach their full potential.

Your Only Limited Resource

DruGroup • 39 implied HN points • 03 Aug 21
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Time is the most valuable resource we all have, and it cannot be replaced or made more of. It's important to be intentional about how we spend it.
  2. The Opportunity Filter helps you decide which opportunities to take on and which to ignore. This way, you can manage your energy and time more effectively.
  3. There are different ways to handle opportunities: dodging unimportant ones, blessing others for their efforts, warning colleagues about risks, launching important projects, and owning responsibilities that truly matter.

Debugging productivity

A Bit Gamey • 6 implied HN points • 16 Feb 25
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Like a computer, people can get overwhelmed with too many low-priority tasks. This can lead to being busy but not accomplishing important work.
  2. It's often better to group similar tasks together instead of trying to complete everything perfectly. This can help you get more done overall.
  3. Sometimes taking a break or pausing can be more effective than rushing into action. A thoughtful approach can lead to clearer decisions and better results.

Measuring PR throughput—perspectives from SPACE author Brian Houck

Engineering Enablement • 8 implied HN points • 03 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. PR throughput is a useful metric for understanding the health of a software system. It can highlight issues that developers face while coding, helping teams identify where improvements can be made.
  2. It's important to use PR throughput as part of a larger set of metrics. This approach helps ensure that you get a balanced view of productivity, developer satisfaction, and overall system efficiency.
  3. When measuring PR throughput, context matters. A rise in this metric can mean different things, like increased workloads or improved processes, so it's essential to look deeper into the reasons behind the changes.

Accelerating Code Reviews With Nudges

Engineering Enablement • 19 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Code reviews at Meta were taking too long, so they experimented with NudgeBot to speed up the process.
  2. The team identified a correlation between slow code reviews and dissatisfaction, leading to the implementation of NudgeBot.
  3. By using NudgeBot to nudge reviewers to act on 'stale' diffs, Meta successfully reduced the time taken for code reviews.

Happy "Only Day I Can Get Any Fucking Work Done" Day to All Who Celebrate

I Might Be Wrong • 8 implied HN points • 29 Nov 24
😂 Humor Productivity
  1. Many people find they can get a lot more work done in a quiet office, especially after a holiday. This calm time can help avoid distractions like complaints and unnecessary conversations.
  2. Modern workplaces can be bogged down by excessive emails and team chat messages. It's important to keep communication focused and relevant to avoid overwhelming everyone.
  3. There's a need for better office etiquette regarding communication. Personal updates and excessive replies can disrupt productivity and should be minimized.

Confession: I used AI to write My Home Office Hacks

My Home Office Hacks • 2 implied HN points • 11 Aug 25
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Check your subscriptions regularly to avoid surprise charges. Setting a reminder can help you stay on top of auto-renewals.
  2. Don't hesitate to ask for better deals when you're on customer support calls. Polite requests can lead to helpful discounts.
  3. Evaluate whether extra features are worth the cost. Knowing what you really use can help you make smarter spending choices.

Deep work

A Bit Gamey • 27 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Productivity
  1. Focused attention leads to valuable outcomes in life.
  2. Deep work is essential for mastering new information and producing better results.
  3. Improving focus involves eliminating distractions, syncing with energy levels, breaking tasks down, taking breaks, and rewarding oneself.

Top 5 posts of 2023

A Bit Gamey • 20 implied HN points • 31 Dec 23
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Force yourself to be creative every day to prioritize creativity in your brain.
  2. Good problems to solve are impactful, painful, in need of quick resolution, growing fast, frequent, and visible.
  3. Uniqueness and individuality are sources of power and influence in success.

There's a forest in the trees?

Tribal Knowledge • 19 implied HN points • 02 May 22
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Having a high attention to detail can be both an asset and a weakness, allowing you to see the little things but potentially missing the big picture.
  2. Managing context switching can be tough, especially in roles where you need to be involved in different subjects concurrently.
  3. Taking notes and reducing the number of priorities can help in combating context switching and cognitive overload.

What Predicts Software Developers’ Productivity?

Engineering Enablement • 23 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Factors like job enthusiasm, peer support for new ideas, and useful feedback strongly correlate with developer productivity.
  2. Non-technical factors like job satisfaction are crucial for productivity, while technical factors can vary among companies.
  3. Improving job enthusiasm, supporting new ideas, and providing feedback can enhance developer productivity.

Agile for Anarchists

Into the Hedge • 1 HN point • 01 May 24
💼 Business Productivity
  1. The PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) system, rooted in an anarchic ethos, is successfully used on a farm to manage work without needing authoritarian supervision.
  2. Despite challenges, PDCA can be effective in corporate environments, but it may require adaptation and a supportive workplace to thrive.
  3. Regular meetings following the steps of PDCA help the farm team review and plan their work, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.

Why I speak slowly

Kartick’s Blog • 17 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Productivity
  1. Speaking slowly ensures people have time to understand the meaning behind the words.
  2. Speaking slowly encourages relaxation and thinking about the big picture, rather than rushing and having a narrow focus.
  3. Speaking slowly creates a more relaxed atmosphere in meetings.

A few nuggets from last week

My Home Office Hacks • 5 implied HN points • 17 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Ideogram is a cool tool that creates images based on your descriptions. There's a free version available, so you can try it without spending money.
  2. You can save money easily by putting a penny in a jar on January 1 and adding an extra penny each day. By the end of the year, you'll have a nice amount saved up for gifts.
  3. The Rocketbook Core is a reusable notebook that lets you write and save your notes to the cloud. It's a great way to stay organized and reduce waste.

ChatGPT or CheatGPT?

My Home Office Hacks • 5 implied HN points • 10 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Using AI tools like ChatGPT for invoicing is useful and doesn't feel like cheating. It can save a lot of time and effort.
  2. You can create a personalized invoice template just by asking ChatGPT for specific details about your company and billing needs.
  3. If you have back pain, using adjustable workstations like Altwork can help you work comfortably, even while lying down.

A Substack writer’s not-so-secret secret

My Home Office Hacks • 2 implied HN points • 21 Jul 25
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Expressing gratitude can help improve your mood and lead to unexpected positive outcomes. It can be a powerful tool to feel less stuck in life.
  2. Using a portable monitor can enhance your remote work experience by making it feel more like your home office setup. This can help increase your productivity and comfort while working away from home.
  3. Building connections with others by promoting their work can lead to more subscribers and a supportive community. Sharing what you love can create good karma and new opportunities.

How to build tailor-made habits

Venture Prose • 59 implied HN points • 11 Nov 19
🏥 Health & Wellness Productivity
  1. Find activities that naturally help you focus; it's like a sane addiction that boosts efficiency.
  2. By training yourself to be 'in the zone,' you improve focus, time management, and habit building.
  3. Create a personalized zone for optimal performance by defining what, where, why, who, and how.

FAQ you

My Home Office Hacks • 27 implied HN points • 08 May 23
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Interview yourself using ChatGPT by posing questions and answers related to your expertise.
  2. Utilize your FAQ page on your website for social media post ideas by transforming questions into posts with links.
  3. Set up Google Alerts to notify you when your name or business is mentioned online, a useful tool for small businesses.

How (in)efficient are engineering organizations?

Engineering Enablement • 14 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Productivity
  1. On average, developers report 22% of their time being wasted, resulting in significant potential productivity loss.
  2. Efficiency in engineering organizations varies widely within teams, showing room for improvement and optimization.
  3. There is a correlation between the size of an organization in terms of employee count and revenue with the amount of developer time wasted, indicating larger organizations may struggle with efficiency compared to smaller ones.

Nine rules for effective meetings

A Bit Gamey • 6 implied HN points • 15 Dec 24
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Every meeting should have a clear leader and a specific purpose. This helps everyone know what to focus on and what to achieve.
  2. It's important to keep everyone involved in the discussion, but also to stay on topic. This means selecting participants carefully and using tools to stay organized.
  3. Conclude meetings with clear actions and responsibilities. This ensures that everyone knows what they need to do next and helps keep things moving forward.

They should have fired him

A Perfectly Cromulent Software Engineer • 1 HN point • 21 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Productivity
  1. Transitioning to a traditional job from freelance work can be a significant change in routine and responsibilities.
  2. Challenges and growth opportunities can arise when tasked with larger, more ambiguous projects that test technical abilities.
  3. Recognizing toxic behavior in oneself or others, such as being uncooperative and rude, is essential in maintaining a positive work environment.

Scrum - use the good parts too!

Nikola’s Substack • 1 HN point • 20 Apr 24
💼 Business Productivity
  1. Consider streamlining meetings in Scrum - fewer, more effective meetings can be beneficial.
  2. Simplify story points and estimations in Scrum by setting straightforward guidelines to avoid confusion and enhance planning.
  3. Maintain the core strengths of Scrum like sprint structure and the Scrum Master role, while adapting them to best suit the team and project needs.