Merlin Mann (43Folders) declares moral bankruptcy of the ‘productivity Pr0n’ cult

September 14th, 2008 by jose
Merlin Mann

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In an impressive display on coherence, Merlin Mann (43Folders) declares moral bankruptcy of the ‘productivity Pr0n’ cult. This is something I have discussed before on ap.com (post: rethinking life hacks).

Merlin has declared he wants a new direction for 43Folders; it was harming people more than helping, since the time readers spent on the blog was taking them dangerously away from their goals. I like his new motto:

Ask yourself: Why am I here right now instead of making something cool on my own? What’s the barrier to me starting that right now?

Will Merlin succeed? Or will he be captured by the gravitational field of cheap self-help advice? We will have to wait until the next episode of 43Folders: the saga.

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3 Responses to “Merlin Mann (43Folders) declares moral bankruptcy of the ‘productivity Pr0n’ cult”

  1. Information Systems DegreeNo Gravatar Says:

    Well, of course. The point of productivity isn’t getting things done, per se… it’s getting the right things done, and effectively, so you can do what you want to do. Alot of people give themselves what essentially amounts to busy work simply because they want to then get it done. That is not the key to productivity or fulfillment… it’s like a sugar high that you’re going to come off of soon.

  2. Lisa Rae SwayNo Gravatar Says:

    Unfortunately, many of us seem to have lost that insight and quantity is becoming more and more important. Productivity should be about getting the right things done like you say, but is that what you see happening around you? Because I don’t… People are creating the illusion of self-fulfillment and improvement through their allegedly “busy” jobs Merlin is right and I’m asking myself at this very moment “Why am I sitting here instead of making something cool on my own?”

  3. Trustee MontrealNo Gravatar Says:

    Moral Bankruptcy? What is that?

    Can someone run out of morality? Can our opinion of someone can be changed at the flick of the switch like a ban account? No.

    That being said I am stongly in favor of more humane work environment. Doing the right thing slowly is better than doing the wrong thing quickly.

    I heard somewhere a motto for snipers : “slow equals precision, precision equals speed”.

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