Productivity Basics
The ABCs of productivity
Quick note: This post is part of Unpopular Psychology’s ongoing series on productivity. Please find links to previous articles on the topic at the end of this post.
Like with every other concept, even with productivity, there are fundamentals that one must get right. Think of it like how atoms come together to form molecules. Or learning how to walk before we begin to run.
That’s what today’s post is going to focus on - Productivity Basics.
Before we begin, let’s first talk about what are NOT productivity basics.
I. What many people think are productivity basics 🤦♀️
Working nonstop throughout the day
Juggling between multiple tasks
Ordering junk and desserts on stressful work days
Pulling all-nighters to meet deadlines
Replying to emails in between meetings
Having 48 browsers open at all times
Powering through sick days
II. What actually are productivity basics?
A. Eating well
B. Sleeping well
sleeping early
putting all screens away at least an hour before bed time
sleeping in a dark and quiet room
getting a few minutes of sunlight every morning and evening for better sleep
More tools here.
C. Exercising regularly
Some mix of consistent strength training and cardio
A detailed guide here.
III. Why the basics are crucial to get right
To sleep on time and eat well is advice that we are long familiar with. Our parents and grandparents told us this stuff when we were kids. Our teachers told us some version of this when we were students. How is this any different? Why listen to any of it?
Because, now, the evidence is in. Without these basics in place, we are fighting a lost battle, not just in terms of productivity, but also our mental and physical health. Here’s what I mean:
Sleep
If you haven’t got 7-8 hours of high quality sleep, getting yourself to make good decisions through the day gets much harder, leaving sustained and focused work close to impossible.
When you don’t get a full night’s sleep, your brain finds it hard to remember, understand or learn. This is kind of what we experience as grogginess the next morning. You might try and keep yourself on course with several cups of coffee but you probably will have to trade another night’s sleep for it, and your body quickly gets used to caffeine, and it stops being as effective.
Food
Our gut and the brain are intimately connected. What we eat affects how we feel.
If you have been eating a ton of junk food, you will feel even more lethargic to do what your boss expects you to do. This will stress you out even more which you will then state as your prime reason for ordering more junk food.
Eating right is so important - it helps mood, reduces stress, regulates appetite and reduces your chances of falling ill.
Exercise
We were built to move, to run, to lift weights, to carry babies, to cut firewood. When we sit at our desks all day and trade gym for our couch, our bodies start rusting. We lose strength, gain fat, fall sick and feel anxious.
On the other hand, when we exercise regularly, we feel stronger, we sleep better and are just generally more equipped to sustain effort on our goals. You may have noticed this yourself. Just 5 minutes into a workout, how do you feel? I usually feel energetic and great, like my head has suddenly cleared up (exercise also improves cognition btw).
Skipping the productivity basics is a little bit like trying to row a boat without oars. You might manage to stay afloat or make some specious movement but for the most part, you are just stuck at the same place waiting for help.
IV. Where we go wrong
We think that once we get the rest of our life sorted - earn enough money, have a retirement plan, get that promotion, then we can begin to focus on our health and sleep.
What we don’t realise is that getting our health, sleep and exercise in order is what will get the rest of our life sorted.
Productivity flows in the opposite direction than we assume it usually does. From high quality rest and sleep flows high quality work, not the other way around. From regular exercise emerges the motivation to approach work with a sustainable kind of determination. From a healthy diet arrives an elevated mood, zeal and appreciation for life.
When we prioritise sleep, exercise and food, we will begin to feel the need to be more efficient with our work. Work stops expanding into the time we have available because the time we have available for work now reduces. Getting our sleep, food and exercise in order precedes (not follows) productivity.
V. Final words
People say that being happy is all that matters at the end of the day. I agree. But what makes us happy? Beyond a point, it’s not money. Neither can it always be family or travel or promotions. Counting on our children to make us happy is also unwise. What is it then? Where lies our happiness?
My answer to this for a while now has been this: our happiness lies in our productivity.
Most of our ideas about productivity are political indoctrinations. Certain groups advise us to forgo sleep and food in service of work. Other groups advise us to be antiwork. What remains between the polarised opinions is our confusion - If I won’t work, how will I earn money? If I won’t earn money, how can I feed my kids? What is the point in hustling like this if I can’t take one phone-free vacation with my partner? Should I just quit my job?
We get a bad taste in our mouth every time someone brings up productivity. Those who procrastinate aspire to be productive. Those who are enervated by work resent everything productivity stands for.
The topic itself is an unpopular one to discuss in current times (hence its regular spot on Unpopular Psychology). When most people hear the word productivity, what comes to mind are images of pulling all-nighters, slogging for hours without a break, skipping meals etc.
But my personal experience and those of many I know shows productivity in a different shade of light. To me, productivity is about increasing my output to input ratio. It is about developing consistency and momentum to stay on track, with my goals and dreams. It is about feeling good at the end of a day about how I spent my time. It is about taking time out to rest, to be with people I care about and build the ability to pursue interests beyond work. It is about being completely enraptured by the positive spiral that I am caught in.
As counter intuitive as it may sound, productivity is what helps me live a good and meaningful life. To be happy for having tried your best never mind the results. While this attitude towards life is incredibly difficult to adopt, it is possible.
And now you know where to begin. First, get your sleep, food and exercise right (here is a guide if you are struggling to get started).
Everything else will follow.
This is a foundational-type productivity post. There are many more factors that interact closely with productivity e.g. sunlight, relationships, cheap dopamine. I have reserved special spots for these topics in future productivity posts. If interested, keep an eye out.
Also links to previous productivity posts:
This article is bang on what is needed. We all too often look at the to-do list not at what supports it. We need to focus on the process not the outcome for me.