The Ultimate Productivity Method in 2023

“Purposeful” Productivity — Do Less but Better to Achieve More

Inspired by many time-tested and modern Productivity methods

Feeling overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time?

Working long hours or even pulling all-nighters?

We’re actually working way more than 40 hours a week. And 84% of Gen Zs reported burnout along with 74% of Millennials (a 2021 study by Asana).

Is it even possible to achieve your goals without working like this?

…

Yes — the key is not doing more, but less.

If you already work at least fifty hours a week, piling on still more hours won’t improve your performance much. It can even make it worse.

From “Great at Work”

Doing More ≠ Achieving More

Too many of us see productivity as “Get More Done, Faster” — the mindset that emerged from the Industrial Revolution when most people worked in factories.

And that’s actually what’s ruining our lives with stress, anxiety, distraction and burnout today (the “productivity trap”).

What should be productivity in the era of “stress and distraction” then?

The answer is Purposefulness— “Do the Right Things Right”.

Focus on the “vital few” (20% of your tasks that generate 80% of outcomes), then manage your mind and body deliberately to produce your best work.

Purposeful productivity allows you to do less but better so that you can achieve more in your life (career, finances, family & friends, health, etc).

“Do less, then obsess (over the tasks to produce quality work)” outperforms “Do more, then stress” (source)

Purposeful Productivity: Do Less but Better to Achieve More

Be purposeful about what to do (the right things) and how to accomplish them (do them right) while deliberately managing the 5 key elements of productivity — Tasks, Time, Attention, Energy and Purpose.

The Five Elements of Productivity

5 steps to practice “Purposeful Productivity”

1. Capture selectively
2. Choose wisely
3. Focus relentlessly
4. Recharge deliberately
5. Reflect truthfully

1. Capture Selectively

Quickly capture tasks as they arise.

Get them in your “external” mind (e.g. to-do list app) so that you can forget about them temporarily and instead focus on what really matters now.

Don’t capture just “everything”, though. It can easily clutter your “plate”, making it harder to maintain your focus on top priorities.

Capture only what’s actionable and important.

The quality of input determines the quality of output.

Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO)

One “Inbox”

Tasks can also come from various sources — project management apps, emails, instant messages (e.g. Slack) and other tools such as GitHub and Figma.

The more places you have to go to check your tasks, the harder it is to get your priorities right. Bring them all together in one “inbox”, or try to minimize your “inboxes”.

2. Choose Wisely

Don’t mistake “urgency” for “importance”, and “busy” for “productive”.

Urgency is powerful and addictive. We are drawn to do something urgent, just to stay in motion. Stay focused on importance to achieve more with less.

Spend 3-5 minutes at the end of each work day and:

1. Choose 3 most important tasks (MITs) for the next day
2. Choose the “1 Must” (your main priority) out of the three

Block time on your calendar so you knock off your “1 Must” early in the morning each day before you get caught by urgent but less important tasks.

Maximize Your Time

Not enough time for your MITs right now (e.g. between meetings)?

Check what’s on your plate but don’t jump on an easy task just to get more stuff done as it tends to be unimportant.

Instead, choose the most important task that you can still do within the available “time and energy” to maximize your time.

Deliberately and consciously procrastinate on small, less important tasks.

Your ability to select your most important task at each moment . . . will probably have more of an impact on your success than any other quality or skill you can develop.

From “Eat That Frog!”

3. Focus Relentlessly

According to the studies from the University of California Irvine, we’re distracted every 40 seconds when working in front of a computer, and it takes about 23 minutes to get back to the task afterward.

Doing the right things is only half the equation, and doesn’t create real value if it’s not done right.

Directing your attention toward the most important object of your choosing — and then sustaining that attention — is the most consequential decision we will make throughout the day.

From “Hyperfocus”

Doing your important tasks exceptionally well often requires large chunks of uninterrupted time. Your ability and commitment to protecting your attention is central to maximizing your performance.

To perform the so-called “deep work”:

• Turn off notifications and block websites during your focus time, except the absolutely necessary ones
• Focus on one task at a time (monotasking) to produce your best work
• Set a timer (avoid overworking) and work against the “game clock” (push yourself for efficiency)

4. Recharge Deliberately

Productivity is not “constant”. It can quickly go down as you get tired or distracted. In fact, complex tasks can take more than twice as long when you’re tired.

But still feeling like you can get more stuff done instead of taking a break?

The opportunity cost of taking a break is widely spread, but a myth.

Regular breaks enable you to sustain your energy (i.e. the ability to focus) to maximize your performance throughout the day.

It’s also an opportunity to let your mind wander to come up with creative ideas (“Scatterfocus” as Chris Bailey explains in his “Hyperfocus” book).

Regular Breaks

So, when to take a break and for how long?

Take breaks regularly even if you’re not tired yet, because your productivity have already begun to drop when you feel tired. Just like you’re already dehydrated when you feel thirsty.

Try a few different cycles and see what suits you best personally.

• 25 min work + 5 min break (Pomodoro tequnique)
• 52 min work + 17 min break (52/17 rule)
• 90 min work + 20 min break (Ultradian rhythms)

Energizers

The break time should be seen as a “reward”. You just worked really hard on what’s important and delivered real value. Enjoy some little time off to recharge your batteries!

First, check in on how you feel:

• Physical capacity — Does your body need some rest, or activation?
• Emotional capacity — Are you in a good or bad mood?
• Mental capacity — Cognitively overloaded now?
• Spiritual capacity — Lacking the “drive”? Feeling lost?

Then do what gives you the right kind of energy:

Examples

• Stand up and stretch
• Look into the distance
• Listen to your favorite music
• Look at old photos that bring back good memories
• Chat with your peers
• Walk in nature
• Meditate
• Or simply enjoy your hobby!

The richest, happiest and most productive lives are characterized by the ability to fully engage in the challenge at hand, but also to disengage periodically and seek renewal.

From “The Power of Full Engagement”

5. Reflect Truthfully

At the end of each week, set aside 15–30 minutes on your schedule. It’s time to reconnect with your purpose (why), short and long term goals (what).

The most productive people start with purpose and use it like a compass. They allow purpose to be the guiding force in determining the priority that drives their actions. This is the straightest path to extraordinary results.

From “The ONE Thing”

Reflect on what you’ve done this week and ask yourself:

• Are your daily actions connected to your purpose?
• Are you getting closer to your short & long term goals?

Revisit your strategy (how) when necessary, so you can stay on track to ensure you put your effort on what matters most to achieve your goals.

The Eisenhower Matrix

Next, go over what’s on your plate quickly. The goal is choosing your most important tasks for the upcoming week while ruthlessly identifying any tasks you shouldn’t be doing based on your purpose, short and long term goals.

Use the Eisenhower matrix:

• Important & Urgent — Move them to your weekly plan
• Important & Not urgent — Do more of what makes the biggest impact
• Not important & Urgent — Try to skip or delegate them to others
• Others — Eliminate them!

Some typical tasks in each quadrant (source)

Wrap Up

Purposeful Productivity: Do Less but Better to Achieve More

Are you not happy with where you are now? The reason why you are there is simply because of what you choose to do everyday and how you do it.

Think and work like the most successful and productive people.

Change how you think and work incrementally — one thing at a time.

Pick the one that resonates the most in this method. Start with that.

Ritualizing one change will bring you much more success than if you try to bite off everything at once — just like taking the entire bottle of aspirin isn’t the right solution for muscle pain.

From “Organize Tomorrow Today”

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P.S. The team (including myself) at Radikal.Ventures is currently building a new product called Yatta (private beta), which helps you incorporate the methods mentioned in this article into your daily workflow. Check it out!