Play People, Power, Purpose, Process are main components of Productivity

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Book Details

• Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal

• Published in 26 Dec 2023

• 304 pages

• Non-fiction, fast paced, simple language

Recap

This book delves into factors that impact my feelings about work, time, energy, and surroundings. It broadens my perspective beyond mere to-do lists, offering a collection of tips and practices from renowned productivity experts, real-life scientists, and evidence-based information. Encouraging a holistic view of life (the life wheel is discussed), it prompts introspection into my sense of purpose, the life I am working toward, the tools at my disposal (especially technology and people), and elements within my control that influence my energy and focus. This holistic approach aims to help my not only at work but also to be present in all aspects of life. This resonates with the book's title, 'Feel Good Productivity,' capturing the essence of aligning productivity with a positive and fulfilling life.

Quotes to live by :

• “When you take on a different persona, you start to find adventure.”

• “shoshin can have a remarkable impact precisely because it allows us to see things afresh.”

• “Next time you’re feeling like a task or project is particularly difficult, ask yourself, ‘What would it look like if I were really confident at this?’ Just by asking yourself the question, you’ll visualise yourself confidently approaching the task at hand. The switch has been flipped.”

• “By letting go of the idea that we know everything, or somehow should, we actually feel more powerful.”

• “Intrinsic motivation comes from the inside: driven by self-fulfilment, curiosity and a genuine desire to learn.”

• “In identical circumstances, with identical material, the people who had to teach others about a subject would learn the material better themselves. The researchers named this phenomenon the ‘protégé effect’.”

• “tired, ineffective version of Ali.”

• “feeling good doesn’t just end with feeling good. It actually changes our patterns of thought and behaviour.”

• “Play is our first energiser. Life is stressful. Play makes it fun. If we can integrate the spirit of play into our lives, we’ll feel better – and do more too.”

• “The results were eye-opening. As the GPS data and responses to the text messages rolled in, it became clear that those who had more adventurous experiences – those who took themselves off to a wider and more random assortment of places, whether taking a new route to work or trying a different coffee shop rather than sticking to their regular one – felt happier, more excited and more relaxed. Their conclusion: an adventurous life holds the key to unlocking positive emotions.”

• “feeling good boosts our creativity – and our productivity”

• “The unblock method encourages us to understand why we’re feeling bad about work in the first place.”

• “play holds the key to true productivity,”

• As Newton’s first law of motion states, An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion. “When you’re doing nothing, it’s easy to keep on doing nothing. When you’re working, it’s easier to keep working.”

Actionable Takeaways

Play:

• Adopt a sense of adventure, like when I was a child. Push boundaries to seek new adventures and allow myself to fall down.

• Integrating the spirit of play into life can help shift my perspective on approaching problems and projects.

• Always be curious when learning something new or foreign to me.

• Reframe failure as a learning process. Don't be afraid to make mistakes!

Power:

• Rest and sleep is important, just like how it’s backed by facts in this book too.

• Believe that I have the power to control what I can do and what I like to do.

• Ask for help, don’t be afraid to ask questions. How else I am going to learn?

• Change the workplace, for instance, go and work in the office once a month, read books in a coffee shop, or change the place to work/read/write around the house.

• Whenever starting a new venture or learning new things, leave the ego behind while keeping transferable tools to aid in a deep understanding of the new topics.

• Whenever I feel overwhelmed about starting new things, visualize the end goal and ask, “What would it look like if I were really confident at this?” “What would it look like if I approached this task feeling confident that I could do it?”

• Acknowledge what is bothering me, what’s making me feel overwhelmed—write it down and find ways to overcome it step by step. Ask questions like “Why have I not started this yet?” “Where is this fear coming from?” “What am I afraid of?”

People:

• Seek people who naturally give us energy and boost our mood.

• See team members/other people as comrades rather than competition (People are allies). “You win, I win.”

• Cheer people for their accomplishments. The positive things you say about others say a lot more about me and make me feel good (Read my post on Ions as an emotional shielding).

• Be open to sharing my learning with others (Feynman technique), it’s a study method of those who teach others understand better and are likely to retain the information. For instance, write a post of how I solve problems, things I learned (like what I am doing now with this blog post).

Purpose:

• Dig deeper into why I usually procrastinate on tasks. Use the 5 WHYs framework to seek clarity in understanding WHAT I can do to unblock the procrastination.

• Use NICE goals

  • Near term to focus on immediate steps I need to take.

  • Input-based to focus on the process rather than some vague end goal/distant end goal.

  • Controllable to focus on a goal that is within my control.

  • Energizing to integrate play, power, and people into my goal.

Process:

• Remember Newton’s first law, “an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion,” so just get started. Small progress is still progress.

• Unblock all frictions that can stop me from getting started.

• Make it obvious, for instance, prepare my writing tools for easy access so that I can pick it up and start writing. Similar to how I started reading ~ Use same concept adopted by Atomic Habit

• Build up what’s working and what’s not working for me, and eventually, it will create a system that works to help me gradually improve and be better.

• Include “wins” in completing tasks. For instance, I didn’t get to cook tonight, but I got to have a quick hike before sunset! or I didn’t finish reading the book today, but I got to settle the house errands this afternoon!

• A system that makes me feel good about doing things is a sustainable one to keep!

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