Tag: Pillar: Professional Growth & Focus

Productivity, career, and work philosophy — doing better and more meaningful work.

  • Feel Good Productivity: When Willpower Fades

    Feel Good Productivity: When Willpower Fades

    Most productivity advice is secretly just guilt in a better font. Do more. Wake up earlier. Grind harder. And for a while, it works — until it doesn’t. I’ve had stretches where I was technically “doing everything right” and still felt completely drained, like I was pushing a boulder uphill just to keep up.

    That’s what made Ali Abdaal‘s Feel-Good Productivity land differently for me. The argument at its core is disarmingly simple: feeling good isn’t the reward for being productive — it’s the engine of it. When you feel better, you naturally achieve more. Not because you’re trying harder, but because the resistance is lower.

    Who is Ali Abdaal?

    Ali is a doctor-turned-creator who built a massive online following while still in medical school. He spent years obsessing over productivity tips and tricks before eventually arriving at a conclusion that cuts against most of the advice in that space: discipline-first thinking is fragile, and mood-first thinking is what actually lasts. If you’re more of a visual learner, his YouTube channel is worth bookmarking — he goes deep into the science behind these ideas and has a way of making dense research feel genuinely watchable. I’ve come back to his videos more than once.

    1. Energise: Turning Work into Play

    The first section of the book is about energy — specifically, how play is one of the most underrated ways to generate it.

    The idea that stuck with me most is deceptively simple: ask yourself, what would this look like if it were fun? Not every task can be made exciting, but most can be made slightly more tolerable with a small shift. One idea I use often is when doing a boring task, have good background music, but nothing with lyrics, he recommends Harry Potter movie scores. Abdaal also talks about confidence not as something you either have or don’t, but as a skill you practise — acting as if you’re confident in a task until the belief catches up with the behaviour. I’ve found this more useful than any pep talk.

    He also pushes back on the idea that success is zero-sum. Treating the people around you as teammates rather than competition doesn’t just feel better — it creates a support network that keeps you going when motivation runs dry.

    2. Unblock: Overcoming Fear and Inertia

    Procrastination, Abdaal argues, is rarely laziness. It’s usually an emotional signal — uncertainty, fear, or just the weight of inertia when you haven’t started yet.

    His answer to vague, overwhelming goals is what he calls NICE goals: Near-term, Input-based, Controllable, and Energising. The distinction matters because abstract goals (“get fit,” “finish the project”) give you nowhere to put your energy. Concrete, near-term inputs do.

    Two other tools I keep coming back to from this section: the Batman Effect, where you adopt an alter ego to distance yourself from anxiety — Beyoncé famously used “Sasha Fierce” for this — and the five-minute rule, where you commit to just five minutes on something you’ve been avoiding. It sounds too simple, but breaking the initial inertia really is most of the battle.

    3. Sustain: Preventing Burnout Through Alignment

    The third section is the one I think gets overlooked most in conversations about this book, and it might be the most important.

    Abdaal’s point here is that burning out isn’t just about doing too much — it’s often about doing too much of the wrong things. The “Hell Yeah or No” rule is essentially a filter: if you’re not genuinely excited about a commitment, the answer is no. Every yes is a no to something else you actually care about. It’s the same insight at the heart of Greg McKeown’s Essentialism — saying no isn’t about being difficult, it’s about protecting what matters.

    He also makes a distinction I found genuinely useful about rest. Not all rest is restorative. The activities that actually recharge you tend to make you feel Competent, Autonomous, Liberated, and Mellow — what he calls the CALM framework. Passively scrolling doesn’t meet that bar. A walk, a creative hobby, or time with people you like usually does.

    The section closes with a simple daily practice he calls Alignment Quests — each morning, pick one small action for health, one for work, and one for relationships that moves you toward the life you want a year from now. It’s a way of keeping daily effort connected to something larger than the to-do list.

    Think Like a Scientist

    The throughline of the whole book is this: there’s no single right way to work, and the people who figure out how to work well treat themselves like an ongoing experiment. Try things. Notice what actually makes you feel better. Adjust.

    That framing has changed how I approach my own habits more than any specific tip in the book. If you’ve ever felt like the traditional “push through it” approach to productivity just isn’t sustainable for you, this book makes a compelling case that you’re not wrong — and offers a better way forward. If you want to go even deeper on working sustainably, Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity makes a powerful companion read.

    If any of this resonates, I’d genuinely recommend picking up a copy of Feel-Good Productivity. And if you want to go deeper on the science behind it, Ali’s YouTube channel is the place to start. It was the reason I picked up the book in the first place.

  • The Art of Being Seen: Lessons from Show Your Work!

    The Art of Being Seen: Lessons from Show Your Work!

    In a world where we often feel pressured to be “experts” before we share anything, Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work! offers a liberating alternative. The core message is that creativity isn’t a mysterious talent reserved for a few — it’s a way of operating that requires being open about what you’re learning and doing. Here are the most meaningful takeaways for anyone looking to find their voice and build an audience. This book was also a big reason I made this website.

    Embrace the Amateur Advantage

    One of the most powerful mindset shifts is realizing you don’t have to be a master to contribute. Being an amateur — someone who does things for the love of it — can actually be an advantage. Amateurs are willing to experiment, take risks, and share their mistakes. As Kleon puts it, the real gap isn’t between good and great; it’s between doing nothing and doing something. By learning in public and wearing your amateurism on your sleeve, you invite the right people to find you and grow alongside you.

    Think Process, Not Product

    We’re often so focused on the final result that we hide the most interesting part: the work itself. Kleon encourages us to document our process. Whether you share it or not, recording your progress helps you see your own growth. When you’re ready to share, don’t wait for a masterpiece — share something small every day. Bits of your methods, your influences, even the scraps from the cutting-room floor add up to a substantial body of work over time.

    The Power of “Scenius”

    The myth of the lone genius is just that — a myth. Kleon introduces the concept of “scenius”: an ecology of talent where great ideas emerge from a group of connected minds, not a single visionary. To tap into this, you need to become an open node — someone who listens, notices others, and acts as a connector rather than simply broadcasting your own work. By teaching what you know and sharing your inspirations freely, you build a network that feeds your creativity as much as your own.

    Become a Better Storyteller

    Human beings are wired for stories. Kleon argues that our work doesn’t speak for itself — people want to know where things came from and who made them. You can make your work more compelling by telling the story behind it: where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you’re headed. This doesn’t mean embellishing. Stick to the truth of your journey. Honesty, it turns out, is more than enough.

    Learn to Take a Punch — and Stick Around

    Sharing your work publicly requires vulnerability. But as Kleon notes, compulsively avoiding embarrassment becomes its own kind of defeat. The antidote is volume: put out enough work that no single bad review can define you. More than talent, more than timing, the people who succeed are often simply the ones who stick around long enough. That idea echoes a line from Richard Strozzi-Heckler that has always been particularly meaningful to me: “The path of the Warrior is lifelong, and mastery is often simply staying on the path.”

    The Choice to Be Seen

    Ultimately, showing your work is about reclaiming agency in how you connect with the world. Generosity with your ideas and consistency in your effort create opportunities that secrecy never could.

    There are plenty more gems in this book for anyone who feels stuck or invisible. If these ideas on sharing and creativity resonate with you, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of Show Your Work!

  • The Antidote to Burnout: Finding Meaning in Slow Productivity

    The Antidote to Burnout: Finding Meaning in Slow Productivity

    If you’ve ever ended a packed workday feeling like you somehow got nothing done, you’re not imagining things. The modern workplace keeps raising the bar — more emails, more meetings, more pings — while the actual meaningful work keeps getting squeezed out. Cal Newport’s book Slow Productivity is a direct response to that problem. It lays out a practical philosophy for getting important things done without running yourself into the ground. Here’s a look at the ideas that matter most.

    A quiet workspace representing slow, intentional productivity

    The Problem: Busyness Isn’t the Same as Productivity

    One of the most useful ideas in the book is the concept of “pseudo-productivity” — the habit of using visible busyness as a stand-in for actual results. Because knowledge work is hard to measure, we often default to the things that look like work: answering emails quickly, keeping our calendars full, always being “on.”

    The problem is that all of this activity gets in the way of the deeper, more focused work that actually moves things forward. Newport calls it “jittery busyness” — and argues that escaping it is the first step toward doing work that genuinely matters. It’s the same trap that Ali Abdaal tackles in Feel-Good Productivity — the idea that looking busy and actually producing something meaningful are very different things.

    Principle 1: Do Fewer Things

    The first principle sounds almost too simple: cut down on your commitments until you can actually imagine finishing them. Newport’s argument is that when your plate is overflowing, everything suffers — you’re always context-switching, nothing gets your full attention, and the quality of your work drops. By focusing on a small number of projects that genuinely matter, you paradoxically get more done in the long run.

    One practical tool Newport suggests is this simple system for managing requests:

    ·The Holding Tank: When a new project request comes in, it goes on a list — no commitment yet, just a place to park it.

    ·The Active List: You work on no more than three projects at a time. That’s it.

    ·The Pull System: When one project wraps up, you pull the next one from the holding tank. Not before.

    ·Be Transparent: Let colleagues know roughly where their request sits in the queue and when you realistically expect to get to it.

    This system won’t win you any “most responsive” awards, but it’s the kind of structure that lets you actually do good work instead of just staying busy. It pairs well with the thinking in Greg McKeown’s Essentialism — both books make the case that protecting your attention is one of the most important things you can do.

    Principle 2: Work at a Sustainable Pace

    Newport’s second principle pushes back against the idea that grinding harder is always the answer. He argues that working at full intensity all the time is not natural — and not sustainable. Think of how seasons work in nature: periods of high activity followed by rest. Our best work tends to happen when we build that kind of rhythm into our lives.

    A simple but surprisingly powerful suggestion: double your timeline estimates. If you think a project will take two weeks, budget a month. This isn’t about lowering your standards — it’s about being honest with yourself and creating space for the kind of careful, thoughtful work that leads to results you’re proud of.

    Newport also makes a case for building small breaks into your routine — a Monday with no meetings, or an occasional afternoon away from your desk. These aren’t indulgences. They’re what it takes to keep your brain from getting stuck in a reactive loop where you’re always putting out fires instead of making real progress.

    Principle 3: Care Deeply About Quality

    The third principle is about raising your own bar — not in the sense of working more hours, but in caring genuinely about how good your work is. When you’re truly committed to producing something excellent, busyness starts to feel like what it is: a threat to the thing you care about. Saying no becomes easier. Cutting shallow commitments becomes easier. Quality becomes its own filter.

    Think of a craftsperson who takes pride in their work. They don’t rush a piece just because someone’s asking. They know that the reputation they build through consistently excellent work is worth more than any short-term win they’d get from saying yes to everything. Newport argues the same logic applies in knowledge work. Over time, doing fewer things — but doing them really well — earns you more professional freedom, not less.

    A Different Kind of Success

    Slow Productivity isn’t a book about doing less for its own sake. It’s about stepping off the treadmill long enough to ask: is all this activity actually getting me anywhere? Newport’s answer is that where you end up matters more than how fast you run. By steadily putting in meaningful effort — rather than constantly reacting and scrambling — you can build a body of work you’re proud of, without burning out along the way. That kind of intentionality extends beyond work too — it’s the same reframe behind Sahil Bloom’s 5 Types of Wealth: success means more than one number going up.

    If any of this rings true for how you’ve been feeling about your work, the book is well worth a read. It’s full of concrete strategies and real-world examples that make these ideas easy to start putting into practice.

  • The Disciplined Pursuit of Less… But Better

    The Disciplined Pursuit of Less… But Better

    In a world that constantly pulls at our time, energy, and attention, Greg McKeown’s Essentialism offers a simple but powerful idea: do less, but do it better. The book isn’t about cramming more into your day — it’s about doing only the right things so you can give them the time and focus they deserve. Here are the themes that stuck with me most.

    You Always Have a Choice

    One of the biggest wake-up calls in the book is this: choice is something we do, not something that just happens to us. When we stop owning our choices, we slowly hand control of our lives over to other people’s priorities. The bottom line? If you don’t decide what matters most in your life, someone else will do it for you. A simple mindset shift — from “I have to” to “I choose to” — can be the first step toward a life that actually feels like yours.

    Why Success Can Work Against You

    McKeown describes what he calls the “Success Paradox,” and it’s surprisingly easy to relate to. When you do well, people notice. You become the go-to person, and more opportunities start coming your way. Sounds great, right? But here’s the catch — those opportunities are really just more demands on your time. Before long, you’re stretched so thin that you can’t do anything well, including the thing that made you successful in the first place. Cal Newport calls this same trap “jittery busyness” in Slow Productivity — worth reading alongside this one.

    Saying Yes to Less

    Not every opportunity is worth your time. In fact, most aren’t. The book argues that only a small handful of choices will ever truly move the needle in your life. To find those, McKeown suggests a simple gut-check: if an opportunity doesn’t feel like a clear, enthusiastic “yes,” treat it as a “no.” A good rule of thumb he offers — if you wouldn’t rate it 90% or higher, rate it zero and walk away.

    Getting Good at Saying No

    Saying yes to what matters means getting comfortable saying no to what doesn’t. The book compares this to editing a film — a great editor doesn’t just cut bad footage, they cut anything that doesn’t make the story stronger. The same goes for your life. Trimming the non-essentials isn’t about being selfish or harsh; it’s about making room for the people and goals that matter most to you. Ali Abdaal makes a nearly identical point in Feel-Good Productivity — his “Hell Yeah or No” rule is Essentialism in a different frame.

    Take Care of Your Most Important Tool — You

    McKeown makes a strong case that your most valuable asset isn’t your job, your network, or your skills — it’s you. And the most basic way to protect that asset is often the most overlooked: sleep. Getting enough rest isn’t a sign of laziness. It’s what keeps your mind sharp and your creativity alive so you can actually show up at your best.

    A Life That Feels Worth It

    At its heart, Essentialism is about avoiding the trap of being busy but never feeling fulfilled. By getting clear on what truly matters — and cutting out everything that doesn’t — you can stop just going through the motions and start building a life with real meaning and joy in it. If that bigger-picture reframe resonates, Sahil Bloom’s 5 Types of Wealth takes it even further — arguing that financial success is just one of five areas that actually make a life feel full.

    There are plenty more insights packed into this book, and I’d absolutely recommend picking it up if any of this clicked for you.

  • 10 Ideas I Got from Atomic Habits 

    10 Ideas I Got from Atomic Habits 

    The following is a list of 10 ideas that deeply resonated with me while reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. These concepts have fundamentally changed how I look at my environment, my daily routine, and the way I “put points on the scoreboard.”

    If you find these ideas helpful, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book or exploring James Clear’s other work for a deeper dive. Please note that I don’t have any affiliate links at the moment; I’m just sharing these because they’ve had a genuine impact on my life. If that ever changes, I’ll update this post accordingly.

    Here are my top 10 takeaways:

    1. The Power of Compounding

    Tiny, consistent improvements—getting just 1 percent better every day—compound into massive results over time. Success is not the product of a single, once-in-a-lifetime transformation, but of daily habits. I like to think about putting points on the scoreboard: Reading a chapter in a book instead of scrolling social media, that’s a point; going on a walk instead of having dessert that you don’t need, that’s a point; and so on.

    2. Focus on Systems That Point Towards Your Goals

    “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” Goals are great, but they create an “either-or” scenario where you are either successful or you fail. Certain goals can be detrimental, especially if the goal isn’t 100% decided by your actions, like winning a game. Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are about building processes that make progress in that direction.

    3. Become the Type of Person Who Does the Thing

    The deepest and most effective form of behavior change is changing your identity—what you believe— the idea is not to perform a habit, but to become the type of person who performs that habit (e.g., “The goal is not to read a book, the goal is to become a reader”). Every action is a vote for the type of person you wish to become, and your identity emerges out of your habits.

    4. Lacking Motivation? Change Your Environment

    Motivation is a finite resource and changing your environment could be an easy fix. I used to work at a bar, taproom, and bottleshop for a while and it’s not surprising that I drank more than I should have. Not excessively but significantly more than the 0-2 per week that is recommended. When I left that job it was so much easier to drink less. It doesn’t have to be about avoiding bad habits either, you can prime your environment to help you read, workout, or drink more water. You want to read more, have your book out in the open, on your bed or where you sit when you watch tv. You want to work out more, have a home gym and put things in places you usually hang out around the house, a pair of dumbbells by the TV, a few exercise bands by your desk, and a pull up bar on a doorframe you walk by a few times a day and use these things when you walk by them. You can do the same thing with a few water bottles.

    5. The Four Laws of Behavior Change

    (1) Make it Obvious, (2) Make it Attractive, (3) Make it Easy, and (4) Make it Satisfying. If you’re having trouble with trying to answer the questions, how can I make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying? Think about answers to the inverse: how would I make it invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying?

    6. The Path of Least Resistance

    We naturally gravitate toward the option that requires the least amount of effort. Knowing this it is a good idea to design your life so the actions that matter most are also the easiest to do, making the good habit the path of least resistance.

    7. Habit Stacking

    Everyone has habits, if you want to add a new habit it is good to stack them with habits you already have, writing it down clearly and intentionally is good. The formula for this is: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].”

    8. Remove or Add Steps to Bad Habits

    A good way to eliminate bad habits is to reduce exposure to the cue that causes it. It’s much easier to avoid temptation than resist it. This is the “secret to self-control”: spend less time in tempting situations, often by simply making the cues of bad habits invisible or adding steps to get to the bad habit. An example that I use is when I want to do something and I know I could get distracted by my phone. I have it in another room.

    9. Awareness Through the Habits Scorecard

    The process of behavior change always starts with awareness. A practical tool is the habits Scorecard, at the beginning of a given day write down all your actions throughout the day (you don’t have to do this daily, just every once in a while). At the end of the day ask yourself for each thing you wrote, does this get me closer to the person I want to become? And add a (+) next to it if it does, a (-) if it doesn’t and a (=) if it doesn’t have an impact, then look at all the (-) and ask yourself what can I do to make this activity more difficult to do in the future? Like if after you got up one of the first things you did was check your phone, maybe the answer would be charging my phone outside of my bedroom at night. Also don’t forget to congratulate yourself on the (+) and if you want you could ask yourself the question: what can I do to make this easier to do in the future?

    10. Stack Your Wants with Shoulds

    There’s a new show on Netflix that you really want to watch? Stack that with a productive should, like folding laundry or walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary bike (you can easily get these free on facebook marketplace or craigslist). Or you want to scroll Instagram for 5 minutes after doing 25 minutes of work on a project you know you should be working on. This is the pomodoro technique, make sure to set a timer for this one, you could easily scroll for an hour after 25 minutes of work if you’re not careful.