Continuing from yesterday, productivity is an old topic for me; ever since I was told that I was not being productive with my time. Which is to say, pretty much my entire life. When I finally had the privileges, I tried & explored a lot of systems to improve my “productivity”. Lists, boards, notebooks, zettelkasten, timers, apps, Second Brain, PARA method and whatnot. It seemed to me, the productivity system is the one magic ingredient that makes one productive in the face of overwhelming chaos.

But I wonder if all of this is misguided. What if I have been productive all along. I work eight hours a day, and I try to sleep another eight. And then I squeeze everything in the other third, my friends, video games, writing, cycling, reading, movies, concerts, hobby projects, my entire life essentially. But modern internet managed to convince me that productivity is about being top of everything, having the neatest place to live, never missing an email, eating healthy, finishing projects, posting vacation photos etc. I do not even put current zeitgeist at fault either; even when I was a kid, the entire school system was designed to make me productive. Lucky for me, I did not have to follow that trend. I had just enough freedom to skate by school, thanks to my parents. So what is different this time?

I used to read a lot when I lived in a dirty apartment. I used to actually play and finish video games when I ate outside in a tiny shack in Bangalore. I did not know what productivity was. I did not have a todo list. But I managed to finish projects, a whole lot of it. My last major project, arguably, was moving to Europe. And that was when it started deteriorating¹. By now, I don’t even go out to take photos.

Despite the fact that running water and reliable electricity was not a given, I managed to learn and accomplish more in India, in my free time than I do now, in Germany. Where not only I don’t have to worry about electricity, everything works, like clockwork. And my life looks a thousand times “neater”, but I am not even entertaining myself with things that I used to enjoy, let alone finishing projects. The idea of productivity has seeped into my free time. Free time which on paper I have. And it has made me a thousand times less productive. Neat looking apartment, apparently healthy lifestyle, but abysmal accomplishments, in comparison to the privileges I currently have.

Tyranny of the lower order bit

Umeshisms is probably one of my favourite bits of wisdom.

If you’ve never missed a flight, you’re spending too much time in airports.

It seems odd coming from a computer scientist, but it only reinforces the statement with mathematical precision. If you are trying to do everything, you almost certainly are not optimising for anything.

Rejecting productivity

Modern productivity, or the idea of it, is like endless potato chips. You can keep snacking on it, without ever eating a meal.

Doing groceries and calling Mum do not belong in a to do list. Cleaning the house is not something to do. It is either a habit, like brushing teeth, or not that important. If it is important, it wouldn’t need to be in a list. If Mark Manson’s The subtle art of not giving a f*ck, has anything to say, it is the importance of identifying what is worth doing.

A word on habit

In my opinion, habits are the magic ingredient for true productivity. Consistency is one true personal infrastructure one individual can build upon. More on that next time.

1. It is not a fault of European society, if anything, in contrast to USA, European society knows how to chill & enjoy being in the moment. ↩︎