Chris Bailey

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How this got started

Many years back, after I graduated business school, I received several full-time job offers, but decided to turn them down. Why? Because I had a plan. For exactly one year, I would follow my passion and devour everything I could get my hands on about the subject of productivity, and then write every day about what I learned on a site I named A Year of Productivity. Since that experiment started, I’ve interviewed productivity experts from around the world, have sifted through countless academic journal articles on productivity, and have conducted numerous productivity experiments on myself, where I’ve used myself as a guinea pig to explore how to become the as productive as humanly possible. For some strange reason, the project took off. By the time I finished my yearlong experiment, my work had been read over one million times by people from almost every country around the world, and the project received some media attention as well. I was even invited by Penguin Random House to write a book, which we called The Productivity Project. Since then, I’ve continued to research and experiment with productivity, and have published a second book: Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction. These books have been published in 20 languages.

A Life of Productivity

After my first productivity project, this site was born. There is nothing I’m obsessed about more than becoming more productive, besides helping other people become more productive. This site exists solely for that purpose—that’s why you won’t find any ads or sponsorships on here (apart from the occasional annoying newsletter popup!) If you’re curious to dive in deeper, here are some of the best articles I have written so far, and some of the productivity experiments I’ve conducted!

What makes me tick?

I guess I should introduce myself, eh? My name is Chris, and I live in Kingston, Canada with my wife Ardyn and our turtle Edward. Just like some people are wired to be interested in sports, music, or comic books, I have always been fascinated by productivity. So you can get to know me a bit better, here are a five things that make me tick:

1. I’m Buddhist, and meditate for 30 minutes every day. I first became enamored with meditation and Buddhism through my yoga practice, and haven’t stopped practicing since. (It might seem weird that someone who’s into productivity is into Buddhism and meditation, but I think the two can work together in fascinating ways.) 2. I graduated University with a business degree with specializations in management and marketing. While I’m into some things that seem hippie-dippy on the surface—like meditation—I think my business-y mind helps me cut through all of the bullshit out there so I can focus on the practical side of everything I write about. 3. I grew up in Canada, and have lived here all my life. If you notice a lot of politeness in the way I talk, this is why. I currently live in Kingston, Canada, and absolutely love it here. If you come to visit, I’ll treat you to poutine and a beaver tail. 4. I’ve had some neat work experience. I was fortunate enough to work a few fun co-op internships throughout University, including one where I independently hired about 200 co-op students for a global telecom firm. I also worked a few corporate jobs throughout University so I could graduate with as little debt as possible.

timeenergyattention 5. A few of my favorite things in the world: Green tea, writing, typography, space, technology (I’m a huge nerd), Oxford commas, and em-dashes—they’re so versatile!

Jump In

Here are a few great launching off points if you’re looking for something to read! Enjoy, and welcome!

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