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My Simple Productivity System - The Equation

2020-06-28 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 8:45 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productivity and time · mode: Explanation and tutorial · tags: His own products discussed, Family, Feel-Good Productivity thesis

In an excerpt from his new Skillshare class on the principles of productivity, Ali defines productivity as useful output over time, multiplied by a "fun factor", and maps it onto the pilot, the plane and the engineer: about 10% of time setting direction, 80% executing, 10% keeping the system efficient and organised.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The video is an excerpt from his new Skillshare class on the principles of productivity

  • ★★ This video is an excerpt, introducing the productivity equation, from Ali's brand-new Skillshare class about the principles of productivity. — 00:00:00 · Skillshare classes
  • ★★ After his class on the principles of productivity, Ali has another Skillshare class coming next month (July 2020) and another the month after. — 00:00:00 · Skillshare classes

00:00:29 — The productivity equation: output over time, useful output, and the fun factor

  • ★ Ali says that in the industrial revolution and agriculture, productivity meant the amount of production per factory, per worker or per day. — 00:00:29
  • ★★★ Ali says personal productivity is how much work we can get done in the least time possible: in a way, productivity equals output divided by time. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ Ali says there is no point in being productive about the wrong things: if your objective is to get somewhere and you are on a treadmill, you only burn energy. — 00:01:28

  • ★★★ The third part of Ali's productivity equation is usefulness: productivity equals useful output over time, output that goes towards our long-term goals or vision for life. — 00:02:01

    “Productivity equals useful output over time.”

  • ★★★ The last part of Ali's productivity equation is F, the fun factor, a constant applied to the whole equation, which he says he came up with a few days ago and has never really seen discussed. — 00:02:01

    “the fun factor”

  • ★★ Ali says the reason he is so productive and does so much on the side on top of being a doctor is that he really enjoys everything he does; when things are fun they no longer feel like work. — 00:02:29

  • ★★ Ali says that when work is fun we do not have to worry about motivation, consistency, willpower or discipline, just as nobody needs motivation to watch Netflix or see friends. — 00:02:29 · Netflix

00:03:03 — The mental model: the pilot, the plane and the engineer, and how they tie into the equation

  • ★★★ Ali says that making our productive tasks enjoyable supercharges every part of the productivity equation. — 00:03:03 · feel-good productivity (concept)
  • ★ Ali says the four parts of the productivity equation (output, time, usefulness and fun) are what interventions can target. — 00:03:03
  • ★★★ Ali, a self-described productivity app nerd, says productivity is more about habit formation, how we are productive, than about the apps we use, and the mental model matters even more. — 00:03:32
  • ★★ Ali says he will cover productivity apps in a future Skillshare class dedicated to them. — 00:03:32 · Skillshare classes
  • ★★★ Ali's mental model for productivity is the pilot and the plane, an analogy his brother helped him come up with. — 00:03:32 · Taimur Abdaal
  • ★★ In Ali's model the pilot sets the course and direction of the plane, and the plane follows that course without deviating, taking off and landing safely. — 00:03:59
  • ★★★ Ali suggests spending about 80% of our time in plane mode, following the pilot's instructions, and about 10%, maybe 15%, in pilot mode: moments of clarity about our vision, purpose and plans for the day. (hedged) — 00:04:23
  • ★★ Ali is in pilot mode first thing in the morning, writing in his notebook everything he has to do that day, or sometimes the evening before; once that is decided he spends no energy the rest of the day deciding what to do. — 00:04:23
  • ★★★ The third role in Ali's model is the engineer, who makes the plane time-efficient and fuel-efficient and keeps the whole system organised, through to-do lists, productivity apps and quick capture. — 00:05:22
  • ★★ Ali suggests spending five to 10% of our time as the engineer, setting up and maintaining the systems, strategies and tools that make everything more efficient. (hedged) — 00:06:05
  • ★★★ Ali ties his two models together: the pilot is the useful part of the productivity equation, the plane the output, and the engineer the time. — 00:06:34
  • ★★★ To become more productive, Ali advises asking whether you need to work on your piloting, your plane or your engineer, rather than on productivity as a whole. — 00:07:05
  • ★★ Ali says fun ties into every role of the pilot-plane-engineer model: enjoying the work makes piloting and engineering more fun and being the plane infinitely more fun. — 00:07:05 · feel-good productivity (concept)

00:07:35 — The rest of the class: the three myths, the three laws and the three powers

  • ★★ Ali says becoming more productive is about changing your habits and skills to be a better pilot, engineer and plane, the plane probably the most important since it takes most of our time. (hedged) — 00:07:35
  • ★★ The rest of Ali's Skillshare class on the principles of productivity covers the three myths, the three laws and the three powers of productivity, with theory and practical tips. — 00:07:35 · Skillshare classes
  • ★★ Ali says future Skillshare classes will go deep into the pilot-plane-engineer model, with advanced and intermediate strategies, principles and tools. — 00:07:35 · Skillshare classes

00:08:22 — The class and a free Skillshare trial

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Productivity is probably the question Ali is asked about most, so he decided to put together an extensive series of Skillshare classes sharing what he has learnt about it from reading and experimenting. — video description · Skillshare classes

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Mentioned

Central: pilot, plane and engineer · productivity equation · Skillshare classes

Also: feel-good productivity (concept) · Netflix · quick capture · Taimur Abdaal

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