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Some Unhealthy Productivity Tips (and some Healthy ones)

2017-06-09 · list · Hank · 3:59 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Everyday life (also: Projects, Science & nature) · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: self promotion

Asked how he does so many things, Hank lists his current projects, shows ladybugs eating aphids under his new microscope, and gives two unhealthy productivity secrets (feeling less good if not maximizing good; letting people rely on him) and three healthy ones (no perfectionism, delegating and letting people fail, following his curiosity).

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Asked how he does too many things, Hank is unsure he does it healthily

  • ★★ Asked how he does so many things, Hank says he's not sure he does, hasn't thought much about it, doubts he is healthy about it, and thinks many of his secrets aren't good for him. (hedged) — 00:00:03

00:00:27 — Current projects: P4A 2017, PodCon, VidCon keynote, solo music set, VidCon Australia, a creators' guild

  • ★★ Hank says they are already working on Project for Awesome 2017, which will happen right after PodCon. — 00:00:29 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★ Hank says they just finished a crowdfunding campaign for PodCon and have now put normal tickets on sale. — 00:00:34
  • ★★ Hank is working on his creator track keynote for VidCon. — 00:00:41 · VidCon
  • ★★ Hank is relearning how to play his own music because he is doing a solo set this year (2017), for the first time in a long time. — 00:00:43
  • ★ Hank is prepping for VidCon Australia, which is coming up very fast. — 00:00:49 · VidCon
  • ★★ Hank is trying to help build a guild of internet creators so they can support each other and have a voice together. — 00:00:52

00:01:00 — Cheap microscope: every ladybug stage on his aphid-infested cherry tree; a ladybug eats aphids

  • ★★ Hank got a cheap microscope and looked at leaves from his aphid-infested cherry tree; an adult seven-spotted ladybug ate aphids while he watched, which was so cool. — 00:01:00
  • ★★ Hank says his tree has every ladybug stage at once: eggs, eggs hatching into tiny larvae, and much bigger larvae that grow as they eat more aphids. — 00:01:15

00:01:35 — Nathan Zed's merch on DFTBA.com sells out

  • ★★ Hank says Nathan Zed just launched merch on DFTBA.com, partly based on a video he made on Vlogbrothers; it sold out in about five minutes and they should have printed more. — 00:01:37 · DFTBA Records, Vlogbrothers

00:01:47 — Two unhealthy and three healthy productivity secrets, ending on curiosity and loving people

  • ★★★ Hank's first unhealthy secret: he has convinced himself that if he isn't using all his tools to do the most good and give people good jobs, he is less of a good person, maybe too much pressure. (hedged) — 00:02:00
  • ★★★ Hank's second unhealthy secret: he puts himself in situations where people he cares about and respects rely on him, which is very motivating but very stressful. — 00:02:16
  • ★★★ Hank's first healthy secret: he doesn't get caught up in doing anything perfectly; he just wants to try things, and if one explodes, he learned. — 00:02:27
  • ★★★ Hank's second healthy secret: he loves giving people responsibility and difficult tasks, and doesn't get mad if they do it wrong or differently as long as they are learning. — 00:02:40
  • ★★★ Hank says there is no way to get good at stuff except to do it, fail and learn. — 00:02:52
  • ★★★ Hank's third healthy secret, for everybody and broader than productivity: he follows and cultivates his curiosity, which often leads to better life and business decisions and to feeling better. (hedged) — 00:02:57 · curiosity
  • ★★★ Hank thinks curiosity is one of the top two or three human characteristics, something he likes about himself; he wants to understand stuff and people. (hedged) — 00:03:09 · curiosity
  • ★★★ Hank says you will never feel bad about your whole life if you loved people and were curious; that is all he wants for his hoped-for 70 to 90 years. — 00:03:28

00:03:44 — Sign-off; Nathan Zed merch pre-order and PodCon

  • ★ Hank points to Nathan Zed's sold-out merch at DFTBA.com, available for pre-order, and to PodCon.com for podcast fans. — 00:03:46 · DFTBA Records

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In the description Hank says his happiness should not be his primary goal, but it should be on the list. (hedged) — video description
  • ★ Hank says the microscope he bought costs around $70 on Amazon, and that he links it with a referral link that earns him a percentage. — video description · Amazon

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: curiosity

Also: People: Nathan Zed

Projects: DFTBA Records · Internet Creators Guild · PodCon · Project for Awesome · VidCon · VidCon Australia

Concepts: aphid · Coccinellidae · crowdfunding · Failure · perfectionism

Only in the description or credits: Amazon

Later videos replying to this one

  • 2017-06-13 · Cheyenne, Wyoming (John) — continues — “Hank, in your video last week you talked about how to be productive” (00:01:57)