“Productivity is most important for things you don’t want to be doing. Most people want to increase productivity so they can spend less time on the task. But before you worry about being more productive, think about being more selective. Rather than focusing on increasing productivity, it may be worth asking, ‘What would I be delighted to spend time on, even if it went slowly?’ Direct your energy toward figuring out how to start what you want to do rather than thinking about how to shorten what you don’t want to do.” — James Clear
“Productivity isn’t really about getting more things done, it’s mostly about learning to enjoy the journey — because when we’re having fun with things we’re doing, then productivity takes care of itself.” — Ali Abdaal
Productivity is about…
- living each moment to its fullest
- minimizing the waste 1
- spending time with intent(ionality)
- using our time in a way that’s intentional, effective and enjoyable
- doing something, but not everything
Productivity is not only a measure of efficiency and also a state of mind/attitude (consciously choosing what really matters to focus on)
Productivity
= (High-Quality Output / Time Spent) 2 × Fun Factor
= (Time Spent × Intensity of Focus / Time Spent) × Fun Factor
= Intensity of Focus × Fun Factor 3
Fill your day with hope and face it with joy. Do bold things with a pleasant and friendly demeanor. Enjoyment is time& energy efficiency. When you’re enjoying yourself, productivity takes care of itself. When work feels like play, the world becomes your playground. 😊
❗Toxic Productivity / Productivity Porn 4❗
Keep in mind: An effective system requires simple, repeatable subroutines that can be performed automatically and integrate seamlessly with one another. True transformation occurs only when these individual building blocks align within a cohesive, interconnected workflow, with bottlenecks identified and eliminated. This is why the typical “10 Tools to Improve Your Productivity” tips found all over the internet rarely offer lasting value. Instead, you need to build your own system that aligns with your unique needs. Experiment and find what works best for you.
Newton’s Three Laws of Productivity
- Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Find a way to get started in less than 2 minutes.
- It’s not just about working hard (magnitude), it’s also about working on the right things (direction). You have a limited amount of force and where you apply it matters.
- Your productivity is a balance of opposing forces. If you want to be more productive, you can either power through the barriers or remove the opposing forces. The second option seems to be less stressful.
See also:
- Planning and preparation help maximize your productivity
- What you work on is far more important than how productively you work
Footnotes
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Productivity can be redefined as minimizing waste in various aspects of life, such as time, energy, attention, ideas, and one’s potential. ↩
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Increased productivity is creating more value in less time. It’s about getting the right things done, not the most things done. The goal isn’t to generate prolific output, but to generate prolific output per unit input. It’s about the leverage on your input. ↩
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It’s not about the number of hours you put in. It’s about the quality of those hours. ↩
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Productivity porn refers to the obsession with consuming content and strategies about productivity rather than actually being productive. It tricks you into feeling productive when in reality you didn’t actually do anything productive. By focusing on the appearance of being productive (e.g., perfect planners, aesthetic workspaces), individuals may neglect the actual work that drives results or moves the needle. Productivity porn creates an endless loop of preparation. This term highlights how people often spend time reading books, watching videos, or engaging with tools and systems about productivity instead of applying these methods in practice. The abundance of advice can overwhelm users, making it harder to choose and stick to a single approach, leading to frustration and decision fatigue. ↩