The secret ingredient to most productivity is - lying.
The secret ingredient to most productivity is - lying.
Why we prefer honest "productivity optimism."
On many topics, including ‘productivity,’ we think a good rule of thumb is:
It’s nice to take advice. You don’t have to use it or agree with it, but it’s nice to get other opinions.
With the caveat that any and all advice from a “bro with a podcast,” or your favourite Instagram celebrity, that says the key to a better life ✨ or OPTIMAL PRODUCTIVITY 💪 is just to wake up earlier, drink more green juice, and secretly rely on your wife/partner/housekeeper/parents/roommates/PA to do the rest of your life and work admin…
That’s not advice - that’s good, old-fashioned lying. Unfollowed.
Knowing that ‘productivity’ has been co-opted by a somewhat toxic content grind, we prefer the term:
productivity optimism.
If ‘productivity’ is the Instagram reel shaming you about how ugly your kitchen cabinet organisation is, productivity optimism is the unique-to-you, probably-never-published, quirky-but-effective system you use to remind yourself what you have in the pantry. It might be a handwritten shopping list on the fridge, it might be a Notion database, and it might even be taking a photo of the cabinet before you go to the store so you remember what you do and don’t have. Whatever it is, it works for you.
Productivity optimism is any system suited to how you work best, giving you the structure, information or organisation to help you achieve what you want to achieve*.
*Usually, that’s to make something quicker, easier, more efficient, or less panic-or-stress-inducing.
Most successful entrepreneurs and leaders have these systems. See Steve Jobs and his black turtleneck. Unfortunately, as they get famous, they neglect to mention that these systems that made them successful are still running - but they’re now being run by staff (work staff, life staff, yacht staff, etc.) You don’t have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyoncé or Richard Branson. Trust me on this one.
Knowing that it’s hard to get started in building this system with all the bad advice out there, this edition of nice work is about helping you spend more time on the step we all love to skip: The planning phase. And yes, this comes before deciding which platforms, apps, and structures you could start with.
The Planning Phase
The best way to create a “productivity optimist” system is by not overdoing it.
Before you start the “creating” of any system, we recommend reminding yourself of the following:
1. The best system is one designed around what you want to have happen.
So start there: What is the goal? Is it to track your time better? Is it to lose less information? Is it to have easier access to stuff while on the go?
2. There is no one best program, system, or approach.
Some people swear by the Bullet Journal. Some people swear by writing down to-do lists. Some people (like my co-founder Rachel) couldn’t live without Notion. The point is: Don’t start trials of 10 apps. They are all the same but different, and whenever you find one that works for you, stick with it.
YouTube video demos and online articles are a good place to get started to see how people use their systems/apps. Bonus: You can learn about it without you having to sign up for anything at all.
3. Aesthetics matter a lot.
Do not discount the power of a nice interface to help you stay on track and motivated.
4. Integrations matter a lot.
Making sure that whatever you choose talks to your other programs makes everything easier. Peek through their integrations list and see what they can do. If your Gmail can talk to your Slack can talk to your Notion page, you’ve just saved yourself a lot of copy/pasting.
5. Cost matters a lot.
Not just the cost of the program (as they won’t make you money), but if they help you be more organised, streamline a process, or become an assistant, then they save you time, so they are worth it.
Most of the tools are subscription-based programs so you can try it out for a month or two to get a real feel for it (most of them have free trial periods or free entry-level subscriptions for you to explore the basics).
And last, but perhaps most importantly:
6. The goal is to make your life easier, not to add steps.
You can easily overcomplicate your life by chasing productivity metrics, or doing what works best for someone else, or trying to do too much too quickly. Making sure you find that balance is essential; otherwise, you are using something just for the sake of it (which improves nothing and actually costs you money, time and sanity).
With those six guiding rules in mind, there are plenty of programs out there that we use to make life easier and work nicer. We’ll go into them in a future edition of the newsletter, and if there’s a tool/app/system/life hack you like, let us know and we’ll include it.
Until then, stay safe out there and definitely unfollow anyone who is promising work/personal bliss for the cost of a green juice subscription,
Peter, co-founder of nice work.