'renewiltord mentioned Akrasia. That's one big thing.
Another thing is that you may not have enough time to fit the things you want with your schedule - and you first need to optimize your things in your life. That may involve optimizing your productivity at work, to free up time or energy for your own things. That also will involve taking a look at what you do around and after work. All of us live at least partially on autopilot, so bad habits tend to sneak up and stay unnoticed. You need to shine a light every now and then to identify and eradicate them - and then that's more time and/or energy freed up for doing the things that matter to you.
Perhaps a less contentious way of saying "focus on productivity" is to say "making the wisest use of the 24 hours one has in a day".
Hi,
I agree with your view. And over a couple of years of (failed) scheduling/optimizing techniques, I learned a thing or two that I would like to share.
The approach OP used in her article is undoubtedly, a great way of looking at your footprints. I used to do a similar (revising over time) thing, but looking back on how much time i "wasted" and how little i was "productive", was not worth the effort.
Over time, I've changed and perfected (well, kind of) this approach to a new way.
The New Way*
I divide my day in 3 sections. The first one, Morning Drill, from a set wakeup time (it really helps) until breakfast. I comprises things like regular morning routine, say exercise, freshening up, etc. It give me a good start into the day. I prefer not to do anything "productive/work-related" in the morning. Next, I take up my todo list for the day (i manage is using Todoist), understand my priorities and think of a general direction of the day, is it going to be a work-day or a fun-day?. I'm strict about my list, but not so much that I would not talk to anyone till i'm finished. I like to play it cool. The third section, i've finished all i had planned today, so i can do anything i want, read a book, go out with friends, and other cool stuff.
This kind of summarises a day.
> All of us live at least partially on autopilot, so bad habits tend to sneak up and stay unnoticed.
I love keeping notes, and reading old notes and revising your day, really helps for such a thing.
Results of new approach:
When I go to bed, I sleep sound realizing the day wasn't a complete mess as opposed to drooling over "I've not been productive enough".
All in all, this was a wonderful article with beautiful insights and a magnificent approach of data science in daily life.
Conclusion:
"The more you focus on productivity, the less you make it."
PS. I have been following *this approach for over 5 months now, and I've never been better.
Thank you for sharing this anecdote, it neatly fits in with a revelation that has been slowly unfolding in me over the last 6 months, graduating from my burnout stage of youth into a mores sustainable and enjoyable way of being and working.
Do your 3 sections have time limits? As in, the morning section is confined to 2/3 hours, the second section 8 hours and X hours for the 'freestyle' final section?
Hi,
First of all, thank you for taking interest!
> Do your 3 sections have time limits?
No, as this would be against the fundamental idea of my approach. Usually, the first section (or "the morning drill", as i call it) lasts till breakfast. After usual morning stuff, if i have time left, i browse social media, tunein to a ted talk, check mails. After Breakfast, second section goes as long as there are tasks left to be done. It may be just a couple of hours, or the whole day. Then there is section three, which is nothing much to plan about.
Before going to bed, I prefer writing a log/diary and setting up tasks for the next day.
Thanks for getting back to me and clarifying that point - I had assumed as much, but just wanted to make sure.
I recently watched a video[1] by a fellow called Lex Fridman, an AI researched, and a productivity power-house. A commenter on that video aptly pointed out that Lex comes from a lineage of hyper-productive and scholarly folks, and thus his rigid schedule of 10+ hours of productivity is not necessarily attainable for the rest of us mortals.
I think I have been trapped in a disillusion for a long time that:
A) I should aspire to perform 8+ solid focused hours of work per day, otherwise I am failing.
B) Most people achieve a solid 8+ solid focused hours of work per day.
In reality, due to some recent research and your initial comment in this thread, it has become clear to me that this is simply not the case. The reality is that it's much more of a 'different strokes for different stokes' scenario, and I think I'm gravitating towards the more 'structured unstructured' way of setting up my days, with less of a focus on expected output and more of freedom to enjoy the work and process without the paralyzing pressure of expectations.
I also think I'm nearing the 'final stages of productivity enlightenment', in which one realizes that the constant research and obsession with productivity (productivity porn?) is also a distraction, and that at some point you have to block it out and focus entirely on applying instead of finding the next kernel of truth.
Another thing is that you may not have enough time to fit the things you want with your schedule - and you first need to optimize your things in your life. That may involve optimizing your productivity at work, to free up time or energy for your own things. That also will involve taking a look at what you do around and after work. All of us live at least partially on autopilot, so bad habits tend to sneak up and stay unnoticed. You need to shine a light every now and then to identify and eradicate them - and then that's more time and/or energy freed up for doing the things that matter to you.
Perhaps a less contentious way of saying "focus on productivity" is to say "making the wisest use of the 24 hours one has in a day".