Today I want to do a little time travel. Don’t worry, it’s just a thought experiment – we won’t be meeting any Daleks! The experiment is in two parts, the first of which is probably familiar to you. The second might be new.

Let’s start by assuming you can travel back in time to have a word with your earlier self. How far back you go is up to you – one year, five, ten, whatever. What advice would you give your earlier self?

I’m not talking about the winning lottery numbers here! I’m thinking more in terms of general advice (“You need to change career” or “If you don’t get fit you’ll have major health problems”) and priorities (“Spend more time with your family”). In particular I’m thinking of things that you probably knew at some level back then, but either ignored or were just “too busy” to implement.

If you’d had that advice back then, advice from yourself of all people, would you have acted on it? I suspect you would. And that could have changed your life today for the better.

OK, on to part two. You can probably guess what’s coming next…

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I love games of all sorts, from abstract board games like Go to console based shoot-em-ups. One of my favourites remains Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3). Despite having played it through numerous times it’s still one I go back to.

What’s this got to do with personal productivity? The other day I was playing when it struck me just how well I knew the game world. I recognise landmarks, have a mental map of the city and can easily navigate from one location to another. I know the virtual world better than my own neighbourhood!

That realisation led me to wonder how much time and brain power I’d spent becoming an expert on one silly little computer game. It’s a lot.

What a waste.

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