I feel like a lot of people (myself included) have gravitated towards productivity content/ideas when what we're actually looking for is fulfilment. Or thinking that being productive is the path to it. I don't know, I think there's this fine line between the productive mindset that's punishing (and pushed by the machine) and then that productivity that naturally blossoms from doing something genuinely fulfilling (even if that's something monotonous from another perspective). This is my rambling..
Love your rambling! I like to refer back to the "flow state" and whether that can be achieved through the "productivity-related" tasks I'm pursuing - those are the activities that rarely become punishing even if I do have to exercise a lot of discipline to make them start (sometimes playing the viola is hard in terms of making time for enough practice, but it's always rewarding). On the other hand when I was younger I did used to feel a lot of guilt if I didn't practice enough, which came from that negative side of the mindset. So even with that, there's a balance.
Between 2000 and 2011, I worked as an executive at the Fortune 500 company and I cannot even count the amount of productivity trainings and books we were asked to attend and read. I have to say, I enjoyed the trainings for the fun of working with my colleagues and my manufacturing colleagues did put a lot of learnings in place. But me, I hardly recall anything useful outside of the smart goals and a few key principles that I am sure so internalized now, cannot even think of what they were. But productivity books, I never found them useful enough for the time spent, outside of the key highlights. Like I could really just read the titles of the chapters or flip over some table/ flow charts and be able to pick up some ideas. I also would say that after a few good books, actual professional training and experience, reading more productivity books did nothing for me. I had to find what works for me by creating my our systems. Everyone has a different way to do things well and we all intuitively know what works for us. I think we need to allow more time for us to think and try our ways. Truly as someone who successfully finished college, knows how to prepare for the concert, how to run a household, put out as many thoughtful videos as you do, you know what works for you. I would stop reading them all together. And I am still very active professionally I am a college instructor so it’s not like I do not need to manage a workload and do not need to learn. I do. But I truly know that I need is to spend more time working my work to find a better way to do it. ❤❤❤❤
Well said, especially the part that we need to think about what we need and works best for us. One suggestion suits one person better, and and the opposite will be better for another. Our priorities, capacities, even the way we organize our thoughts are so different.
I follow a lifestyle in which I have systems for things so that I don’t need to think about basic functionality. I have a place for everything-I don’t have to think about where my purse, keys, shoes, stapler, scissors, tape, glue-you name it-is located. It’s completely time saving and easy for anyone in my family. I have extrapolated this to laundry-everyone has a system of skinny hampers in their closet. We all sort our laundry while taking our clothes off at the end of the day. Each type of hamper has a day of the week that that type of laundry gets done. Everyone knows the system and if additional loads need to be done due to emergency or illness, the washer and dryer are free for that. Cleaning gets done the same way, grocery/meal planning etc. This frees up my brain space for stuff that needs thought, creativity, brain power.
How timely, I am starting to read Toxic Productivity out of curiosity 😂 I used to follow so much productivity content in my mid-20s, that I think I am now content to just live my life.
My most disliked section of TH-cam are the productivity and life optimization type people they really just grate my nerves so bad. Your life is not an optimization problem.
As a neurodiverse person, I can tell that most productivity books are kind of useless, because most are based on "force" (a.k.a. motivation) and extensive tiny tasks that use up your executive energy (like tracking journals), which never work in the long run, because energy & motivation will run out at some point. The only "accidental productivity book" for me was Marie Kondo combined with some advice from the book "atomic habits" which focussed on "the barrier" of doing things which was a game changer for me. E.g. So for cleaning I had to make the barrier as low as possible, so I placed multiple fancy looking cleaning spray bottles everywhere next to the "to be cleaned item", so the 1st step was already removed from every cleaning job; making the cleaning solution. It sounds so unnecessary for neurotypicals, because making cleaning solution "is only a 2 min. job....but it's the barrier of starting to clean. You have to think first about what cleaning product to use (task 1), then find it in the storage (task 2), get a bucket & sponge (task 3), etc... and maybe find out you've run out :P... That's a barrier. It could be solved by as simple as keeping a spray bottle of white vinegar in the shower so you spray a little every time after you've showered or something, you're already there so...
Also, for future books reviews, you could always borrow the book or audiobook from the public library instead of buying and then if it resonates with you, buy it then or support the author in a non-material way with a donation!
Yes! I explain this in another video soon, but the reason I don't use the library for everything is that I can't physically get to a library very reliably right now, and in the case of these books (the two new ones) they were only available on the libby app in audiobook form, which I don't love. And that, combined with the idea of "author support" pushed me to buy these, even though I now kind of regret that. Living and learning! I am getting better at listening to audiobooks (especially after curating my online content a lot more) so I do hope to avoid book purchases, especially until I've finished the unread books I still have
I’ve listened to Cal Newport’s podcast where he goes into deep work and slow productivity, and i think there is something there to changing a toxic perspective around hustle culture. As someone who was burnt out during the pandemic (what a time to be a public health professional!) it’s a nice reminder to slow down sometimes, but i would agree it gets a little repetitive after awhile.
Hi, I’m definitely interested in a follow up of GTD and how you find it. I used it years ago and have been thinking of rereading it to try again as I’m in a different phase of life now. So this came at a good time! I’m definitely a collector of information and not so much the acting upon it 😄 Something I’m working on! Thanks, take care 😊
Ok, so this has nothing to do with the books you reviewed today which were cool by the way. But the snippet you played at the end. That scene in Fight Club left me in stitches! Thanks for the nod. 😂
I'm not typically one for self-help/productivity books, maybe out of stubbornness that I already know what I need to do 😅 But maybe with older age, I have been looking for a refresh and have been more open-minded with the self-help genre to see what I can do to improve. I listened to some of Ali's videos and found them moderately helpful. However, the whole thing about quiting medicine to do youtube and "inspiring" others/young people to pursue a career in TH-cam seems questionable to me. Surely, there are better pursuits in life than making youtube videos as a career but what do I know?! I also stumbled across his wife's videos previously and it just seems everyone is on this youtube self-help career for what reason, I don't know 😅 Not bashing youtube content in general because I consume a lot of it, but young people feeling inspired to become a youtuber, that seems quite grim! Would be keen to hear more about "Getting things done". I am a reasonably organised person but I dislike over-organisation. To me, the point of organising is to help us to move on to other productive things so spending too much time over-engineering the organisation process seems counterproductive. But if you can give more info for me to decide if I may benefit from his systems, that'd be great!
Just finished the video. Productivity books are useful for providing tips and frameworks to help organize our tasks, but I agree once you’ve gleaned the main concepts the rest are not as impactful. I haven’t tried GTD but I’d like to try setting up a “second brain” system someday, which is very similar to the GTD file organization.
I like your comment, ’we want to stay calm and dispassionate to course correct’ in relation to our identities. This is so true! Very well said, I know you are reviewing books but here’s my review of your review, it was great!
Personally, it feels like a lot of the new material available regarding productivity is repetitive now. Whether it’s a book or Podcast. I completely agree that implementation is key! It’s taken me years to figure out what works best for me and am actually still working on it.
We don't need this books. I think you can find this kind of information on line for free. It must be pretty good reason I let my money in this kind of things. I am an adult I will mange my productivity myself.
I have used the GTD system more or less consistently for 6 years now and it is no overstatement to say that it has changed my life. I tend to lack consistency in doing the weekly review thing properly. I still benefit a lot from this system even without fully taking that step, but I do find the benefits to be even more substantial when I do this step properly. The waiting-for list is what has been a complete game changer for me.
Tbh I'd rather just listen to podcasts now. Newer authors seem to be just paraphrasing content from other sources. 😅 I purchased a book written by this TH-camr who promotes modern stoicism, and honestly the originality was lacking. I feel like I was just reading a collection of college essays, or someone else's journal about other famous people's journals 😂😂😂
I use GTD for years and I can’t imagine to drop it. There are times I’m behind with my weekly review and immediately I’m stressed. The side effect of tracking everything is seeing how much things I try to do and making a continuous decision to not do a task or project. Removes a lot of emotional labour from doing things.
I can feel my inner voice start to protest! Yeah, yeah it says. Leave me alone, it says! I will do what I need to do when I'm good and ready and NOT before! The little brat ( what I label this voice!) will not be pushed, prodded, coerced, encouraged, or convinced! It will thwart any effort to get going before it is good and ready!
I sure did, I think it made an appearance in my "book declutter" 😄 I didn't declutter it though! And kind of paradoxically maybe, I have no qualms about buying or having that, since in my estimation a book of poetry from someone who actually works with words outside of the realms of social media, as HLP does, (not an "influencer poetry book" from someone with no experience, those also do exist) is more akin to an artistic experience that stands alone - not something I read in order to try and get something specific out of or because of what the creator talks about on their social media platform.
I will be returning for your video on self-help books as art or craft 🥸 Productivity and self-help are sticky for me -- it never occurred to me until I got to college and heard people talking about how they needed to "do work" that I should be insecure about how I was spending my time. It just wasn't a thing in my house growing up, or within my friend group. I do like Kara Loewentheil's work on productivity, which I think is GTD-adjacent (with the inboxes and the calendar system and all that). But the biggest reason I like it is that she doesn't take for granted that all productivity is inherently good. I'm pretty sure she uses Max Weber's Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism as a jumping off point for a lot of her productivity talk, which I'm always here for
I feel like a lot of people (myself included) have gravitated towards productivity content/ideas when what we're actually looking for is fulfilment. Or thinking that being productive is the path to it. I don't know, I think there's this fine line between the productive mindset that's punishing (and pushed by the machine) and then that productivity that naturally blossoms from doing something genuinely fulfilling (even if that's something monotonous from another perspective). This is my rambling..
Love your rambling! I like to refer back to the "flow state" and whether that can be achieved through the "productivity-related" tasks I'm pursuing - those are the activities that rarely become punishing even if I do have to exercise a lot of discipline to make them start (sometimes playing the viola is hard in terms of making time for enough practice, but it's always rewarding). On the other hand when I was younger I did used to feel a lot of guilt if I didn't practice enough, which came from that negative side of the mindset. So even with that, there's a balance.
Between 2000 and 2011, I worked as an executive at the Fortune 500 company and I cannot even count the amount of productivity trainings and books we were asked to attend and read.
I have to say, I enjoyed the trainings for the fun of working with my colleagues and my manufacturing colleagues did put a lot of learnings in place.
But me, I hardly recall anything useful outside of the smart goals and a few key principles that I am sure so internalized now, cannot even think of what they were.
But productivity books, I never found them useful enough for the time spent, outside of the key highlights. Like I could really just read the titles of the chapters or flip over some table/ flow charts and be able to pick up some ideas.
I also would say that after a few good books, actual professional training and experience, reading more productivity books did nothing for me.
I had to find what works for me by creating my our systems. Everyone has a different way to do things well and we all intuitively know what works for us.
I think we need to allow more time for us to think and try our ways.
Truly as someone who successfully finished college, knows how to prepare for the concert, how to run a household, put out as many thoughtful videos as you do, you know what works for you.
I would stop reading them all together.
And I am still very active professionally I am a college instructor so it’s not like I do not need to manage a workload and do not need to learn. I do.
But I truly know that I need is to spend more time working my work to find a better way to do it.
❤❤❤❤
Well said, especially the part that we need to think about what we need and works best for us. One suggestion suits one person better, and and the opposite will be better for another. Our priorities, capacities, even the way we organize our thoughts are so different.
I follow a lifestyle in which I have systems for things so that I don’t need to think about basic functionality. I have a place for everything-I don’t have to think about where my purse, keys, shoes, stapler, scissors, tape, glue-you name it-is located. It’s completely time saving and easy for anyone in my family. I have extrapolated this to laundry-everyone has a system of skinny hampers in their closet. We all sort our laundry while taking our clothes off at the end of the day. Each type of hamper has a day of the week that that type of laundry gets done. Everyone knows the system and if additional loads need to be done due to emergency or illness, the washer and dryer are free for that. Cleaning gets done the same way, grocery/meal planning etc. This frees up my brain space for stuff that needs thought, creativity, brain power.
This sounds AMAZING 👏
How timely, I am starting to read Toxic Productivity out of curiosity 😂 I used to follow so much productivity content in my mid-20s, that I think I am now content to just live my life.
Sounds good to me! 🤗
My most disliked section of TH-cam are the productivity and life optimization type people they really just grate my nerves so bad. Your life is not an optimization problem.
I agree!
As a neurodiverse person, I can tell that most productivity books are kind of useless, because most are based on "force" (a.k.a. motivation) and extensive tiny tasks that use up your executive energy (like tracking journals), which never work in the long run, because energy & motivation will run out at some point. The only "accidental productivity book" for me was Marie Kondo combined with some advice from the book "atomic habits" which focussed on "the barrier" of doing things which was a game changer for me.
E.g. So for cleaning I had to make the barrier as low as possible, so I placed multiple fancy looking cleaning spray bottles everywhere next to the "to be cleaned item", so the 1st step was already removed from every cleaning job; making the cleaning solution. It sounds so unnecessary for neurotypicals, because making cleaning solution "is only a 2 min. job....but it's the barrier of starting to clean. You have to think first about what cleaning product to use (task 1), then find it in the storage (task 2), get a bucket & sponge (task 3), etc... and maybe find out you've run out :P... That's a barrier. It could be solved by as simple as keeping a spray bottle of white vinegar in the shower so you spray a little every time after you've showered or something, you're already there so...
Also, for future books reviews, you could always borrow the book or audiobook from the public library instead of buying and then if it resonates with you, buy it then or support the author in a non-material way with a donation!
Yes! I explain this in another video soon, but the reason I don't use the library for everything is that I can't physically get to a library very reliably right now, and in the case of these books (the two new ones) they were only available on the libby app in audiobook form, which I don't love. And that, combined with the idea of "author support" pushed me to buy these, even though I now kind of regret that.
Living and learning! I am getting better at listening to audiobooks (especially after curating my online content a lot more) so I do hope to avoid book purchases, especially until I've finished the unread books I still have
I’ve listened to Cal Newport’s podcast where he goes into deep work and slow productivity, and i think there is something there to changing a toxic perspective around hustle culture. As someone who was burnt out during the pandemic (what a time to be a public health professional!) it’s a nice reminder to slow down sometimes, but i would agree it gets a little repetitive after awhile.
Thank you for your work during that terrible time! Many people have NO IDEA how bad it really was!
I liked "Deep Work" a lot better than this one! What a time to be a public health professional indeed, thank you for your service 🫡
Hi, I’m definitely interested in a follow up of GTD and how you find it. I used it years ago and have been thinking of rereading it to try again as I’m in a different phase of life now. So this came at a good time!
I’m definitely a collector of information and not so much the acting upon it 😄 Something I’m working on! Thanks, take care 😊
Ok, so this has nothing to do with the books you reviewed today which were cool by the way. But the snippet you played at the end. That scene in Fight Club left me in stitches! Thanks for the nod. 😂
I'm not typically one for self-help/productivity books, maybe out of stubbornness that I already know what I need to do 😅 But maybe with older age, I have been looking for a refresh and have been more open-minded with the self-help genre to see what I can do to improve. I listened to some of Ali's videos and found them moderately helpful. However, the whole thing about quiting medicine to do youtube and "inspiring" others/young people to pursue a career in TH-cam seems questionable to me. Surely, there are better pursuits in life than making youtube videos as a career but what do I know?! I also stumbled across his wife's videos previously and it just seems everyone is on this youtube self-help career for what reason, I don't know 😅 Not bashing youtube content in general because I consume a lot of it, but young people feeling inspired to become a youtuber, that seems quite grim!
Would be keen to hear more about "Getting things done". I am a reasonably organised person but I dislike over-organisation. To me, the point of organising is to help us to move on to other productive things so spending too much time over-engineering the organisation process seems counterproductive. But if you can give more info for me to decide if I may benefit from his systems, that'd be great!
Just finished the video. Productivity books are useful for providing tips and frameworks to help organize our tasks, but I agree once you’ve gleaned the main concepts the rest are not as impactful.
I haven’t tried GTD but I’d like to try setting up a “second brain” system someday, which is very similar to the GTD file organization.
I like your comment, ’we want to stay calm and dispassionate to course correct’ in relation to our identities. This is so true! Very well said, I know you are reviewing books but here’s my review of your review, it was great!
I agree.
Personally, it feels like a lot of the new material available regarding productivity is repetitive now. Whether it’s a book or Podcast. I completely agree that implementation is key! It’s taken me years to figure out what works best for me and am actually still working on it.
We don't need this books. I think you can find this kind of information on line for free. It must be pretty good reason I let my money in this kind of things. I am an adult I will mange my productivity myself.
GTD is one of my favorites. I have it in audio form and listen to it on a frequent rotation.
I have used the GTD system more or less consistently for 6 years now and it is no overstatement to say that it has changed my life. I tend to lack consistency in doing the weekly review thing properly. I still benefit a lot from this system even without fully taking that step, but I do find the benefits to be even more substantial when I do this step properly. The waiting-for list is what has been a complete game changer for me.
Tbh I'd rather just listen to podcasts now. Newer authors seem to be just paraphrasing content from other sources. 😅 I purchased a book written by this TH-camr who promotes modern stoicism, and honestly the originality was lacking. I feel like I was just reading a collection of college essays, or someone else's journal about other famous people's journals 😂😂😂
I use GTD for years and I can’t imagine to drop it. There are times I’m behind with my weekly review and immediately I’m stressed. The side effect of tracking everything is seeing how much things I try to do and making a continuous decision to not do a task or project. Removes a lot of emotional labour from doing things.
I can feel my inner voice start to protest! Yeah, yeah it says. Leave me alone, it says! I will do what I need to do when I'm good and ready and NOT before! The little brat ( what I label this voice!) will not be pushed, prodded, coerced, encouraged, or convinced! It will thwart any effort to get going before it is good and ready!
Have you bought Hannah Louise Poston's book of poetry?
I got it for my poetry loving cousin named Julia.
I sure did, I think it made an appearance in my "book declutter" 😄 I didn't declutter it though!
And kind of paradoxically maybe, I have no qualms about buying or having that, since in my estimation a book of poetry from someone who actually works with words outside of the realms of social media, as HLP does, (not an "influencer poetry book" from someone with no experience, those also do exist) is more akin to an artistic experience that stands alone - not something I read in order to try and get something specific out of or because of what the creator talks about on their social media platform.
I will be returning for your video on self-help books as art or craft 🥸
Productivity and self-help are sticky for me -- it never occurred to me until I got to college and heard people talking about how they needed to "do work" that I should be insecure about how I was spending my time. It just wasn't a thing in my house growing up, or within my friend group.
I do like Kara Loewentheil's work on productivity, which I think is GTD-adjacent (with the inboxes and the calendar system and all that). But the biggest reason I like it is that she doesn't take for granted that all productivity is inherently good. I'm pretty sure she uses Max Weber's Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism as a jumping off point for a lot of her productivity talk, which I'm always here for