Ray Sidney-Smith
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rsidneysmith.com
Ray Sidney-Smith
@rsidneysmith.com
82 followers 51 following 68 posts
Digital Productivity / GTD / automation / Psychology / 🖖🏻 | 🐘 Evernote Certified Expert | Google expert | 🎙️ Host of ProductivityCast, Productivity Book Group, Personal Productivity Club, and ProductivityPlusTech.com
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My coauthor Steve Orr and I released "Podcasting for Small Business" for preorder - amzn.to/4q2SuVs - Release for hardcover and paperback are on December 2nd as well!
Reposted by Ray Sidney-Smith
CNN @cnn.com · 20d
Jane Goodall, a conservationist who broke barriers for women and revolutionized the study of primates, has died at 91. https://cnn.it/4o44cxf
My coauthor Steve Orr and I released "Podcasting for Small Business" for preorder - amzn.to/4q2SuVs - Release for hardcover and paperback are on December 2nd as well!
In life and work, resist two traps:
1) Don’t take one moment and make it a universal truth.
2) Don’t treat general truths like they apply without exception.

Wisdom (and productivity and even peace of mind) lives between the general and the specific. That’s where agency begins.
It is even more complicated when the truth is nuanced. You are infrequently only correct or wrong, but partially so. We need more of the "yes and" approach to thoughtful disagreement. The productivity gains are a huge opportunity.
Personal productivity doesn’t start with efficiency. It starts with curiosity. When we lead with curiosity, we deepen empathy, foster connection, and tap into a quiet resolve that turns our wishlists into task lists. That’s where mastery begins.
🌟 Happy #WorldProductivityDay! 🌟 Today, we celebrate the many ways we can be productive, both at work and in life. Remember, productivity is not just about getting things done, but also about finding balance and making time for rest. Let’s make the most of what we have!
July 2 is coming soon...and it marks the halfway point of 2025. If your goals stalled or never left the runway, now’s your moment to reassess. Do they still matter? What small step can you take today? Research shows steady progress beats grand plans. Midyear is not too late.
I'm not worried about AI becoming conscious. I'm concerned that we will use it and erode our best human productivity. Use AI for mundane tasks, free your mind for creative, strategic and complex thought.
Fear can spark urgency, but it's a short-term fuel. It doesn't spark growth; it limits it. For sustainable growth and next-level productivity, shift from survival mode to a mindset of empathy and compassion. That's where true time mastery and lasting progress live.
I taught my first GenAI for Small Business full-day workshop (online/in-person hybrid). I definitely find it more difficult having half the class virtual and not visible/off-camera. At the same time, I was really pleased that their answers during exercises were cogent and engaged.
As Dr. Edward de Bono showed through the Six Thinking Hats, we can all learn to look at challenges from new angles.

Insight doesn’t always follow a straight line. Sometimes it finds those willing to change their perspective — and wear a different hat.
We often assume that counterintuitive ideas are too hard to understand.
But to lateral thinkers, the unexpected feels natural.

The good news? Lateral thinking isn’t just a gift — it’s a skill.
I wonder if this changes the experiment for the better if one instead subscribes to your local newspaper and actually reads the print/digital articles in full (not just headlines with rage commenters' opinions). Remove social networks for news, and dedicate an hour a day to book reading.
Consider a “news fast” and replace your reading time with books.
8 Ways to Read (a Lot) More Books This Year
Stop checking Facebook.
buff.ly
If this works well and is available to most users, I can see how useful something like this could be...like how Windows Defender has helped WinOS ecosystem:
Microsoft announces security AI agents to help overwhelmed humans www.theverge.com/news/634598/...
Microsoft announces security AI agents to help overwhelmed humans
AI agents are here to help security professionals.
www.theverge.com
Reposted by Ray Sidney-Smith
WIRED @wired.com · Mar 18
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press