9 Ways to Be Happily Productive

I did my version of a power hour yesterday. In the middle of my regular tasks, I scheduled in an hour for six different projects—some large, some small—and set a timer for 10 minutes each. When the timer went off, I switched away from one project and set the timer for 10 more minutes to spend on the next project.

Was it efficient? Definitely not.

But was it fun? Incredibly so.

I felt very fulfilled moving forward on six different projects.

This philosophy of making our work feel good is what Dr. Ali Abdaal’s new book is all about: Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You. As an easy mark for productivity books, I found this one wonderfully satisfying.

Abdaal says,

“Put simply: success doesn’t lead to feeling good. Feeling good leads to success.”

He organizes the book into three neat categories: Energizers, Unblockers, and Sustainers. Each category is further subdivided into three more categories with practical experiments in each.

I’ve listed one experiment here from each of the nine subcategories. Find one that suits you and try it, not to center productivity per se, but to make your work feel good.

3 ENERGIZERS

1. Play

Add a spirit of play into your work.

Experiment: Don’t Be Serious; Be Sincere.

Abdaal draws on Alan Watt’s work to not take ourselves only seriously, but to also be authentic. Abdaal writes,

“The trick is simple: when you feel like your work is draining or overwhelming, try asking yourself, ‘How can I approach this with a little less seriousness, and a little more sincerity?'”

2. Power

Feel empowered as you take your work into your own hands by a shift in attitude.

Experiment: Own Your Mindset

“‘Have to’ is coercive language that makes you feel powerless. ‘Choose to’ is autonomy-affirming language that makes you feel powerful. . . . Is there a way to turn this ‘have to’ into a ‘choose to’?”

3. People

Increase your energy by connecting with supportive people.

Experiment: Overcommunicate

“We’re much more likely to underestimate how much communication we need to do than overestimate it. . . .When you think you’ve communicated plenty, you almost certaintly haven’t. . . . We need to learn to communicate bad news too. Unfortunately, we’re not always very good at that.”

3 UNBLOCKERS

1. Seek Clarity

Find out what’s blocking your productivity so you can do something about it.

Experiment: The Five Whys

“Use the five whys to determine whether a task is worth doing in the first place. Whenever somebody in my team suggests we embark on a new project, I ask ‘why’ five times. The first time, the answer usually relates to completing a short-term objective. But if it is really worth doing, all that why-ing should lead you back to your ultimate purpose. If it doesn’t, you probably shouldn’t bother.”

2. Find Courage

It may not be lack of talent or inspiration that holds you back, but fear; learn to unblock from it.

Experiment: The 10/10/10 Rule

“Ask yourself:
Will this matter in 10 minutes?
Will this matter in 10 weeks?
Will this matter in 10 years?”

3. Get Started

One of my favorite categories, these “get started” unblockers help you overcome inertia.

Experiment: Reduce Emotional Friction

“The five-minute rule is a simple but powerful technique that encourages you to commit to working on a task for just five minutes. The idea behind this rule is that taking the first step is often the most challenging part of any task.”

3 SUSTAINERS

1. Conserve

Learning ways to resist distraction is an effective approach to sustaining your work.

Experiment: Add Friction

“Invert the logic [of reducing friction]. Create obstacles between you and what you don’t want to divert your attention.”

2. Recharge

Find ways to refuel by participating in some activities that have nothing to do with your work, but are simply things you enjoy.

Experiment: Calm Hobbies

“The defining characteristic of a hobby is that it’s low stakes; there’s simply no way to win or lose a hobby, nor to turn it into a business. . . . Continually remind yourself that the hobby should be enjoyed for the process, rather than any kind of high-stakes goal.”

3. Align

Know what really matters to you, and align your behavior to match it.

Experiment: The 12-Month Celebration

“Imagine it’s twelve months from now and you’re having dinner with your best friend. You’re celebrating how much progress you’ve made in the areas of life that are important to you over the last year. Write down what you’d want to tell your best friend about your progress.”

The book is full of many more experiments, interesting anecdotes, and helpful insights. I highly recommend it to productivity junkies like me as well as those who rarely read this genre. Abdaal doesn’t claim that every experiment here is a new one, but the way he organizes them is new, effective, and most importantly, feels good.

Everyone will find helpful tools for themselves in this book.

Do you have a favorite book on productivity you’d recommend? Another of my favorites—an oldie but a goodie—is Getting Things Done by David Allen. Share your thoughts in the comments.

My thanks to NetGalley for the review
copy of Feel-Good Productivity.

• ← Thoughts from an Island Jail – Rattle the Bars
• Do You Need to Change the Channel? →