Hi, Jack. A week ago, you published an ebook on Amazon. What’s the title of the book and what’s it about?
The title is “Get Organized in Visual Way! Personal Productivity System in Trello.” It’s about task and project management.
Oh, no, another book about productivity?
If by productivity you mean using a system that helps you get on top of things and take control of your life by effectively managing your daily tasks and work projects – then yes, this book is about productivity.
You surely know there are hundreds of books on that topic.
Of course, I had done some research before I got down to writing. To be honest, more than “some” because as a scientist I always do extensive research. It’s my job.
Oh, really? What’s your field of study?
Personal information management – digital tools, ways of organizing information, motivational issues – things like that.
Sounds interesting and relevant to the topic of the ebook. But what’s so special about your ebook?
It combines academic knowledge with practical skills, providing real life solutions that don’t require any scientific knowledge or computer expertise.
What kind of solutions do you mean?
In the book, we – as I’m a co-author – show how to build a highly effective personal productivity system. The system is based on the fact that people are visual beings, relying on their vision to orient themselves, understand complex patterns, and derive pleasure.
Yes, a lot of people are visual, but what’s the point here?
We propose a visual task manager called Trello as the core of the system.
Trello? What’s that?
It is a very popular and easy to use computer and mobile application. It takes advantage of the Japanese productivity system called KANBAN.
Sounds mysterious.
It’s an extremely effective tool if you know how to use it. We teach readers how to set up two original workflows (home and business) that will help them organize and complete tasks and projects. If a picture is worth a thousand words, and a prototype a thousand meetings, we could say that a visual task manager is worth a thousand hours saved.
Really? Everybody has their own work style, and I don’t think that any system can be universal.
You’re right. That’s why we show how to build your own, personal system that matches all your individual needs. You can use the workflows we propose, or you can create your own workflow based on what you learned.
Do you practise what you preach? I mean, do you use Trello and your system by yourselves?
Of course. It works great with us, our students and clients, and we are sure it will work with lots of other users – business people, designers, writers, engineers. Also, freelancers will get an excellent tool for facilitating their work.
It seems like a perfect tool for carrying out your New Year’s resolutions. Thank you for the interview.
Thank you very much.
You can get a copy of the book from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Organized-Visual-Personal-Productivity-System-ebook/dp/B082S4Y3SR/ref=sr_1_73?keywords=productivity&qid=1577289928&sr=8-73
