The Key to Productivity is This Math

Our net productivity, an idea introduced to me by James Clear, is the balance of the productive and unproductive forces.

It’s so astute to point out that we have both.

We have the things helping us focus, stay organized, hold us accountable, and motivated.

But we also have the things holding us back, interrupting and distracting us.

So much of our time is spent trying to be more productive– building up our attention spans, monotasking, crossing off to-dos, choosing our hardest and biggest tasks, taking energizing breaks…

But don’t forget the other side of the equation.

We can improve our net productivity by eliminating the unproductive forces, too. Turning off notifications for email, slack, and messages. Putting our phone out of reach and out of sight while we work. Choosing tasks that match our chronobiology (morning larks should do their hard work in the morning, night owls much later). Unnecessary meetings.

Equations have both sides and so does our productivity.

Considering both is the path to getting the most out of your time.

“A car will travel faster not only if you press the accelerator, but also if you remove the speed bumps.” - James Clear

Reference:

https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/november-3-2022

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.