What Everyone Gets Wrong About Productivity

If you search up productivity tips online all you see is information on how to get more done.

People glamorize the idea of working long hours.

They see videos of Elon Musk working 16 hour days and think that's how they need to operate to be successful.

Elon is an anomaly.

Just because he can work 16 hour days and be hyper productive—doesn't mean that you should do that too.

Everyone I know who adopts this hustle culture mentality have two things in common:

1. Poor Health

2. Poor Relationships

Yet they shout from the rooftops about how successful they are. About how much money they make.

Sure if you work hard the likelihood of you becoming successful increases.

But what if there was a better way?

What's the point of being successful if you don't have anyone to share that success with?

When you're 80 are you more likely to regret not working hard enough? Or regret not spending enough time with loved ones?

One of the most common regrets people have at their end of their life is: "I wish I hadn't worked so hard."

In the moment you're rewarded for working hard. You get promoted, you get a better salary, you get recognized for your hard work.

But in 20 years everyone is going to forget how hard you worked. Everyone except for your kids.

Is it still worth it?

Now I'm not saying you shouldn't work hard.

I love working hard.

There's no better feeling than going into bed knowing you gave it your all.

The issue is we're using the wrong metric to measure productivity.

The Productivity Formula

This is how most people would define productivity:

When the Gary Vees of the world are telling you to work hard—this is the formula that they want you to adopt.

Get as much done as possible. It doesn't matter how long it takes.

This leads to burnout, poor health, and poor relationships.

The longer you work the less productive you become. Your brain is too tired to focus.

What's the point of working longer if we get diminishing returns?

Here's a refined formula that better represents productivity:

The old formula, concludes that the amount of hours worked increases productivity.

This new formula is the inverse of that. The fewer hours you work, the higher your productivity.

But there's a catch—you still need to get work done.

This formula says that productivity is about doing the most work in the least amount of time.

Now the question becomes—how can I get more done in less time?

The answer is counterintuitive. It's getting more rest.

The Power of Rest

To the hustle culture advocates, the idea of rest is sacrilegious.

They'll say, "I'll rest when I'm dead."

But rest is a powerful tool to help you become more productive.

To help prove this concept—let us use muscle building as an analogy.

When you work out—you create micro tears in your muscles.

When your body repairs these micro tears—your muscles get bigger.

This repair process only happens during rest and sleep.

So if you spend hours working out—you don't give your body the rest it needs to build muscle.

The same applies to your mind.

When you work—you're constantly exposing your mind to new information.

Yet, it is during rest when your brain builds connections and deepens pathways.

Most creative insights happen during periods of rest.

These creative insights are non-linear ideas that can have a massive impact.

Bill Gates has been famously known for his think weeks.

He credits a lot of Microsoft's success to his think weeks.

It was time for him to rest and give himself space to come up with non-linear creative insights. This helped Microsoft become one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Here's what Melinda (his ex-wife) said at the time:

Or take Isaac Newton—who was resting under a tree when he saw an apple fall.

He got the insight that some force must be acting on the apple causing it fall—leading him to discover gravity.

If you spend every minute of your day working or in a state of distraction—you don't give your mind the opportunity to make these connections.

The problem is that most people have the wrong definition of rest.

They think rest is vegging out in front of a TV. Or mindlessly scrolling social media.

Although these tasks are effortless—your mind is still highly active.

It's still in a state of being exposed to information. Rather than being in a state of processing that information and building connections.

Rest is very boring. Which is why so many people struggle with getting enough rest.

So what does rest look like?

Mind Wandering

When I was a kid, I always got in trouble for daydreaming.

My parents told me it was bad to daydream. They'd rather see me mindlessly watch TV and play video games than to see me daydream.

What I didn't realize was how vital mind wandering is for processing information.

In the book Stolen Focus, Johann Hari discusses the need to mind wander. It helps us understand the world and think about long-term goals.

Chris Bailey, the author of Hyperfocus, lists three main benefits of this state of mind wandering:

1. It allows you to set intentions and plans for the future.

2. Mind wandering gives your mind space to recharge.

3. Mind wandering fosters creativity.

Mind wandering is how you let your brain build connections.

Imagine if Isaac Newton was under a tree scrolling Instagram. Would he have discovered gravity?

As a kid, what I got punished for is actually the key to creativity and generating non-linear insights.

It's now crazy to me that people associate mind wandering with attention problems.

If I were growing up as a kid in school today—I definitely would have been diagnosed with ADHD. I would have been prescribed stimulants to help me concentrate.

The mindfulness community is also circulating a similar message.

They tell us that thoughts are bad. That thinking is bad. That thoughts are the reason why we struggle to focus.

Meditate and stop your mind from thinking. Quiet the inner chatter.

What if this is all wrong?

What if the issue isn't our thoughts? What if the issue is that we don't spend enough time with our thoughts?

For most people, the idea of spending time with their own thoughts is scary. It's boring af. That's why we try so hard to avoid them.

I decided to commit to this. At first, it was very boring and uncomfortable. But it became fun.

I came up with better ideas. My thinking was more clear. I also felt calmer.

Doing this didn't need a big time commitment.

In fact, it saved me time.

I do my regular daily activities without any distractions:

1. Eat my meals without any TV or phone scrolling

2. Workout without headphones

3. Shower, dishes, laundry without distractions

If I have longer blocks of time in the day I try to go for long walks without headphones.

I also try to meditate, but instead of trying to stop the chatter—I let my mind wander.

I recommend that you try it out.

Even one activity—do it without any distractions.

Over time, you can find more periods in your day to let your mind wander.

This is the most focused I've felt in a very long time, and I hope this helps you feel the same way, too.

Thanks for reading.

Ashvin