š¬ My Productivity B-Roll (and why you should start filming yours)
š¬ My Productivity B-Roll (and why you should start filming yours)
Sunday Scoop #8 - In this issue, I share with you how to procrastinate productively. I also include one of the best mini-documentary I've seen in quite a while and how it changed my outlook on life.
Hey friends,
Letās start off this weekās newsletter a little differently. Watch the first 45 seconds of this video.
See how the video alternates between headshot clips of Grant and James talking to the camera and cinematic close-up shots of the coffee brewing in the Moka Pot?
The former is an example of an A-Roll footage; the latter, a B-Roll footage.
In this issue, I share with you how I used this simple film analogy that has been around for decades to supercharge my productivity. Hopefully, by the end of it, youāll be able to do the same.
Understanding the B-Roll
If you didnāt catch the full context of how A-Roll and B-Roll work in films, Iāll give you a brief run-through here.
Your A-Roll is footage of the subject matter; direct shots of the main characters talking, for example. Your B-Roll is everything else. Itās the footage most vloggers use when they do voiceovers: walking into a coffee shop, doing the dishes, driving, etc.
Life is not so different.
A-Roll: Taking A-Levels
B-Roll: Going to classes, taking notes, tracking tests, co-curricular activities, making friends, hanging out, warding off aggressive monkeys
Okay, the last B-Roll isnāt applicable for everyone, but my point stands.
How does a film analogy apply to productivity?
Although Iām a self-professed 'Productivity Guru', Iām not nearly as delusional or idealistic as to expect myself to constantly be functioning in overdrive. We all have varying energy levels throughout the day and the trick is work around them.
When we are at our peak energy levels, thatās when we should shoot our A-Roll and do the most important tasks of the day. These tasks could be anything and range from studying a new topic to writing your Personal Statement or preparing for a class presentation next week.
Iām not making your A-Roll the focus here. I want to talk about the B-Roll. The small but impactful tasks you can do when youāre feeling like an absolute wasteman.
In this issue, Iāll cast my B-Roll publicly for your viewing pleasure and hopefully, itāll be enough to inspire you to film yours too. Note that these are my personal footages, you do not (and should not!!) need to constrain yourself to them. Create your own shots and film them.
With that said, letās get right into my B-Roll.
šļø 0/10 Energy
Write the day off. (Yes, I said that)
Letās face it. We all have these days when we just canāt be bothered to do anything.
Give yourself permission to enjoy life. Immerse yourself in the process and truly enjoy the experience to the fullest. Turn on the Netflix series youāve been dying to watch or dive headfirst into the YouTube rabbit hole.
Itās more productive to do this than to force yourself to half-heartedly work and end up spending five hours on a task you could very easily have completed in one. Not to mention the ensuing guilt, of course.
Write the day off.
P.S. - This was inspired by my productivity guru, Ali Abdaalās Reitoff Principle. Iāll be writing on that in a few weeksā time and giving it my own spin, but if you canāt wait, feel free to read more about the Reitoff Principle here!
šļø 1/10 Energy
Calling home and catching up with friends virtually
Taking a cold bath (always seems to reset me)
Scrolling through Instagram for web design inspiration
šļø 2/10 Energy
Mindlessly scrolling through Twitter in hopes that I stumble upon an interesting thread that I can then turn into 8 different articles (gotta always be on the lookout for opportunities to pump out that content, am I right?)
Sorting through stale tasks on my Todoist and adding fresh ones
šļø 3/10 Energy
Checking my email inbox and replying those that require a response
Going through my LinkedIn feed, connect with new people, and approving new connections (connect with me on LinkedIn here!)
Cleaning my room and work station
šļø 4/10 Energy
Mindfully browsing YouTube and watching videos that Iāve saved to my Watch Later playlist
Hunting for book recommendations on GoodReads, updating the books Iāve read, and occasionally writing a review on those books
Browsing through some podcast shows I follow and adding potentially interesting episodes to my Spotify 'To-Listen' Playlist (article about my favorite podcasts coming up soon. Stay tuned! š)
šļø 5/10 Energy
Write short notes on all of the articles and podcasts that have resonated with me
Hauling a fresh batch of audiobooks
šļø 6/10 Energy
Doing light academic work
Intentionally browsing through tweets Iāve saved into my bookmarks and draft a potentially valuable thread for my audience
Going through my Instapaper and reading articles I previously saved into the app
šļø 7/10 Energy
Doing heavier academic work
Scanning my todos and picking whichever one will take the least amount of time to accomplish
šļø 8/10 Energy
Doing heavy academic work (learning new content etc)
Going through my Notion Content Manager and working on the outline of some ideas
Working on clientsā websites
šļø 9/10 Energy
Doing heavy academic work
Writing full-length book notes
Drafting newsletter and articles
šļø 10/10 Energy
Anything that strikes me fancy in the 'flow' state
There you go. That is a very brief run-through of my Productivity B-Roll. I work around my energy levels and my best work is produced at my peak energy levels, physically, mentally, creatively.
It goes without saying that I, too, have bloopers. Contrary to the legends and myths, I still find myself lying on the edge of my bed, watching videos of 'Fastest Workers Alive' or 'Best of The Voice Blind Auditions' for hours on end.
However, to maintain my reputation as a Productivity Guru, Iāve very conveniently cut those out of my B-Roll footages.
The whole point here is to have an outline of things you can do even though you feel like youāre in a slump. This way, you find an efficient way to work around your energy levels and procrastinate more productively.
With that said, I hope that this issue inspires you to film your own B-Roll footage and the practice adds value to your life in some shape, way, or form.
Have a great week ahead and see you in the next issue of Sunday Scoop!
Jia Shing.
Links
š¹ Video - This 30-minute long mini-documentary of the late Claire Wineland was worth every second, and then more. It moved me to tears multiple times. I particularly adored how she didnāt resort to some sob story or jump to the other extreme approach and delusionally paint life as a picture-perfect artwork. She acknowledged that life has sufferings and thatās what makes it so beautiful. It is just so inspiring to see a girl approaching death with so much life. Watch this.
š§ Podcast - Naval Ravikant on JRE, thatās the dream combo. This episode has to be one of the densest dispositions of wisdom ever.
Here are a few nuggets of wisdom from Naval.
Desire is a contract with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.
There are no happiness in material possessions, but lack of material possessions can make you very unhappy.
If you want to see who rules over you see who youāre not allowed to criticize.
Happiness is peace in motion and peace is happiness at rest.
Listen to the episode here.
Question
Are you working around your energy levels? Could you be procrastinating more productively?
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