Slow Productivity

✒️ Note-Making

🔗Connect

⬆️Topic:: workflows (MOC)

💡Clarify

🔈 Summary of main ideas

1. Productivity isn't an assembly line - modern economy, especially knowledge workers, can't be measured or optimised based on old "assembly line" logic that measures productivity by minimizing inputs (specifically time), while maximizing (specifically the quantity of) outputs. Quality work takes time, and it can't be streamlined into a generic process, otherwise it wouldn't be creative.
2. The enemy - pseudo productivity. - Due to the vagueness of modern productivity, people have resorted to "signaling" productivity instead of actually being productive, because it improves our status while avoids answering the complicated question of how to become more productive.
3. Slow productivity
   1. Do fewer things - The less we have on our plate, the more time and attention we can devote to what truly matters. Have no more than 2-3 projects simultaneously, and only focus on one per day.
   2. Work at a natural pace - Good work can't be rushed, when we do so we hurt the quality and ourselves in the long run. Make sure to include sessions of rest throughout the day/week/year
   3. Obsess over quality - Don't prioritize short term gains over developing the foundation that can lead to exceptional work

🗒️Relate

⛓ by following this method, what will happen? What is the goal of this book? We would become more productive, while also doing so in a way that doesn't lead to burnout and over busyness

🔍Critique

✅ relevant research, metaphors or examples that helps to convey the argument

1. Pseudo productivity - The preference of mere appearance of productivity, like sending emails and checking todolist tasks, instead of actually doing the work that advances the project
2. Overhead tax - The administrative tasks around a project

❌ the logical jumps, holes or simply cases where it is wrong... There has not been sufficient rebuttal against tendencies to procrastinate, to use even perfectionism as pseudo productivity, and to stretch tasks to the amount of time allocated to it. On some level, he assumes that everyone has the self discipline necessary to maintain the course when a project is stretched months or years into the future, without external mechanisms to keep you in line.

🧱 Implementations and limitations of it are... I appreciate the attempt to make this book relevant for wage workers who have limited control over their day to day and amount of tasks, yet it is still hard to implement, especially financially, for most knowledge workers.

🗨️Review

💭 my opinions on the book, the writers style... The book started off strong but then declined as it felt stretched thin, filled with stories and hardly any content.

🖼️Outline

📒 Notes

Introduction

It is problematic that productivity is synonymous with Hustle Culture, equating productivity with quantity. The more outputs we have, the more productive we are perceived to be.

This mindset often leads to Burnout, as we strive to meet ever-growing Expectations to produce more. We work longer and harder until we have no energy left.

Instead, we should embrace slow productivity Slowing down. This approach emphasizes the importance of rest alongside work, focusing on the quality of output rather than quantity, and adhering to a natural pace.

INTRODUCTION

• The relentless overload that’s wearing us down is generated by a belief that “good” work requires increasing busyness—faster responses to email and chats, more meetings, more tasks, more hours. (Location 144)
• this philosophy rejects busyness, seeing overload as an obstacle to producing results that matter, not a badge of pride. It also posits that professional efforts should unfold at a more varied and humane pace, with hard periods counterbalanced by relaxation at many different timescales, and that a focus on impressive quality, not performative activity, should underpin everything. (Location 157)

Foundations

The Rise and Fall of Pseudo Productivity

Despite its popularity, defining productivity clearly is challenging. The prevailing consensus seems to stem from Industrial Revolution thinking, likening productivity to an assembly line, where it is measured as the ratio of inputs to outputs, easily quantifiable and improvable.

However, modern knowledge work is less straightforward. There is no Clarity regarding what it means to be more or less productive. The best scientist is not necessarily the one who publishes the most articles, nor can we easily identify what they might be doing wrong or "slower" to improve.

Without a Proxy for productivity, we must determine for ourselves how to enhance our performance. Unfortunately, many people prioritize Signaling productivity over actual productivity Image vs core. We aim to appear productive rather than truly being productive, focusing on superficial tasks like emails and to-do lists McNamara Fallacy. This is pseudo productivity.

Pseudo productivity not only differs from actual productivity but also harms it. By prioritizing the appearance of busyness, we have created instant communication tools that have contributed to the rise of the Attention Economy and Distractions.

We often have little time to work effectively because we are either distracted or engaged in discussions about work instead of doing it. This expectation to produce more and more has led to stress and burnout.

THE RISE AND FALL OF PSEUDO-PRODUCTIVITY

• A Henry Ford–style approach of improving systems instead of individuals also struggled to take hold in the knowledge work context. (Location 255)
• As the twentieth century progressed, this visible-activity heuristic became the dominant way we began thinking about productivity in knowledge work. (Location 275)
• The use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort. (Location 287)
• Computers and networks opened many new possibilities, but when combined with pseudo-productivity they ended up supercharging our sense of overload and distraction, pushing us onto a collision course with the burnout crisis that afflicts us today. (Location 305)

A Slower Alternative

As a Reactance to the rise of pseudo-productivity, movements supporting a slower way of living have emerged. For instance, this includes rejecting the fast-food industry in favor of slow, communal home-cooked meals or advocating for a shorter workweek with the option to work from home.

This shift is not merely about saving commute time; it simplifies the issue through an outdated productivity lens. It challenges our beliefs about work and productivity.

Slow productivity does not imply being less productive. On the contrary, it represents a more effective approach for knowledge workers.

A SLOWER ALTERNATIVE

• Slow Food. Slow Cities. Slow Medicine. Slow Schooling. Slow Media. Slow Cinema. All movements built on the radical but effective strategy of offering people a slower, more sustainable alternative to modern busyness that draws from time-tested wisdom. (Location 437)
• maybe when it comes to combating the inhumanity of our current moment of professional overload, what we really need—more so than righteous disdain or brash new policy—is a slower conception of what it even means to be productive in the first place. (Location 440)
• SLOW PRODUCTIVITY A philosophy for organizing knowledge work efforts in a sustainable and meaningful manner, based on the following three principles: 1. Do fewer things. 2. Work at a natural pace. 3. Obsess over quality. (Location 507)

Principles

Do Fewer Things

The first principle of slow productivity is less is more. By prioritizing essential projects over others, we can allocate more time, focus, and energy to what matters most.

It is advisable to narrow down your list until you can confidently finish everything with time to spare.

Overcommitting and overloading our to-do lists create an overhead tax - time spent managing tasks instead of advancing them, such as attending meetings and answering emails instead of writing reports.

Typically, this tax takes precedence over Deep Work time. Since we cannot extend our working hours, taking on more projects leads to an increase in the tax, which crowds out productive time until all we do is manage tasks without having time to complete them.

Overload also hampers our creativity due to Attention Residue. Thus, having fewer projects enhances both the quantity and quality of our work.

Doing less becomes easier when we limit our tasks in advance. Aim to commit to no more than two or three projects. If someone pressures you to take on more, explain in detail why you cannot. Instead of simply saying you're busy, specify what you are already handling and when you expect to finish.

How to Reduce Task Overload:

1. Block Time in Advance - To understand your available time, plan related tasks and schedule them on your calendar.
2. One a Day - Focus on a single project each day.
3. Scheduled Batches - Group similar work into regular intervals. For example, "I always check my emails at 6 PM" Task Batching.
4. Scheduled Sync - Asynchronous communication, such as emails, can be taxing. It's more efficient to have personal or team "office hours" to discuss tasks requiring further clarification. This approach saves time and reduces context switching.
5. Make Them Work - Demand clarity, information, and detailed instructions from anyone adding to your workload. Streamline the planning process by requesting all necessary information instead of figuring it out yourself.
6. Avoid Ripple Effects - When possible, choose tasks that generate fewer subsequent tasks once completed. A "one and done" approach is ideal.
7. Delegate - Hire services or individuals for tasks outside your expertise that consume significant time Outsourcing.
8. Implement Pull Systems - Instead of having tasks pushed onto you, maintain a neutral backlog of tasks (assigned to no one) and take on tasks only when you are ready to accept them.

DO FEWER THINGS

• Strive to reduce your obligations to the point where you can easily imagine accomplishing them with time to spare. Leverage this reduced load to more fully embrace and advance the small number of projects that matter most. (Location 628)
• Focusing intensely on a small number of tasks, waiting to finish each before bringing on something new, is objectively a much better way to use our brains to produce valuable output. (Location 715)
• In knowledge work, by contrast, pushing employees into larger workloads can decrease both the quantity and quality of what they produce. (Location 736)

Work at a Natural pace

Good work takes time. When we try to rush things, we only hurt our productivity. We can achieve more by slowing down and combining work with relaxation while keeping our eyes on our long-term goals.

Since we are prone to planning fallacy, we should double our time estimates to avoid feeling rushed before our work is ready. What about Parkinsons Law?

Additionally, it helps to make our work schedule non linear, allowing for moments of lower workload, as there will likely be busy periods as well. This type of seasonality ensures we have time to rest throughout the day, week, and year.

Examples of seasonal habits include:

1. Taking the summer off
2. Blocking one day a week without meetings
3. Taking one afternoon off each month
4. Working in cycles of a few weeks dedicated to challenging projects, followed by a low-effort week

Remember that our work is also influenced by the space we work in Extended Mind. Make it your own and tailor it to your needs. For example, a vampire novelist wrote at night to match the atmosphere of her book.

WORK AT A NATURAL PACE

• Don’t rush your most important work. Allow it instead to unfold along a sustainable timeline, with variations in intensity, in settings conducive to brilliance. (Location 1400)
• We toil long days, every day, to satisfy the demands of pseudo-productivity, not because skilled cognitive efforts actually require such unwavering attention. If anything, we have evidence to believe that industrial-style work rhythms make us less effective. (Location 1500)
• The key to meaningful work is in the decision to keep returning to the efforts you find important. Not in getting everything right every time. (Location 1645)

Obsess over Quality

Obsessing over the quality of your core outputs and skills enhances your Positioning. Instead of cutting corners for short-term gains, you can build a strong foundation and develop skills that will benefit you in the future, enabling a slower life.

To avoid Perfectionism, we need to recognize when to stop obsessing.

We can motivate ourselves to focus on quality by putting our name or money on the line. Using Commitment Devices - such as announcing when we will present our work or quitting our job to pursue our ideas - can compel us to create something better, as the alternative of working in hiding or enjoying the comfort of a steady job will no longer exist.

OBSESS OVER QUALITY

• Obsess over the quality of what you produce, even if this means missing opportunities in the short term. Leverage the value of these results to gain more and more freedom in your efforts over the long term. (Location 2102)
• It’s in the obsession over what you’re producing that slowness can transcend its role as just one more strategy on the arid battlegrounds of work-life wars and become a necessary imperative—an engine that drives a meaningful professional life. (Location 2111)
• Obsession requires you to get lost in your head, convinced that you can do just a little bit better given some more time. Greatness requires the ability to subsequently pull yourself out of your self-critical reverie before it’s too late. (Location 2424)

Conclusion

CONCLUSION

• Slowing down isn’t about protesting work. It’s instead about finding a better way to do it. (Location 2626)