More productivity is not productivity: 3 Reasons why they are not working.
Unmasking the Illusion: Debunking the Myth of More Productivity
Begin:
Binging Productivity videos, reading loads of productivity books, and thinking that life would improve on its own but still no progress and more indulgence in those media of productivity.
It’s not you who isn’t smart, it’s because you are not properly applying them in your day-to-day life.
Why even bother buying books or giving your time to watch videos on the same thing over and over again when your life is the same as before?
I will tell you why? You are not applying the key principles you read or watched. Let’s delve deeper.
The big why?
The why is simple. You watch a video and get inspired. But most of the time instead of applying the things you have learned; you simply don’t do it because you are lazy. So, your time is wasted.
Another reason could be you want to apply it, but you don’t have time.
One more reason could be you just forget. I know our brains are not good at remembering a lot of things in this knowledge era. As David Allen said:
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
David Allen
Easy Solutions:
Here’s the easy solution. Open up a book. Let’s say it is Atomic Habits by James Clear. One idea he shares is:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
James Clear,
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
So, even if you have goals, you must have a system to achieve those goals. Like If learning Japanese is one of your goals, your system might be practicing Japanese with natives for 30 minutes every day. Eventually, You will get to a point where you think you are progressing and becoming fluent.
The main takeaway is simple. Think about the thing you have just read or watched. Think about how it resonates with you and how you could apply it. How could It improve your life? Where can you use it?
Then use it. Just literally do it. Do it. That’s the way to apply the things you are going to learn or all the time learning will go in vain.
We all have 24 hours in a day. Some may have the whole day scheduled up while others have free time to burn. But what we give time to matters. According to The Happiness Equation, one of the 5 Greatest Regrets of the Dying is:
I wish I hadn't worked so hard
The main thing I want you to understand is that we all have the same time, yet we give different priorities. So, If you want to apply the techniques you see in videos or read in books, you must make them a priority. Yes, let’s start meditating for 5 minutes a day.
Well, some people can remember better while others can’t. But what if we don’t have to remember? What if we have a system that helps us remember everything and we lose our stress to remember everything? Yes, there is and It’s building a second brain. But before that, I would suggest some simple ways to remember what you want to remember in the context of applying the productivity tips :
Write down things. This way you won’t forget.
Chain it with other tasks. Habit stack.
According to James Clear, The habit stacking formula is:
After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
For example: After I wake up, I will meditate. Before I eat breakfast, I will go for a short walk.
The Ultimate Solution
The Ultimate solution is to build a second brain. This solves the problem of not forgetting what you learn while also you can search anything up when you want to apply it. After reading, Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain, I have made a second brain which is certainly changing my life. Here are two comprehensive videos you can watch to learn to build a second brain:
Conclusion
In conclusion, I recommend you watch videos or read books intentionally. Things that will help you improve in your life. Learn from them and try to use most of them. You don’t have to use every single thing from a book, just the main ones or at least one idea per book.