Estimated read time: 13 minutes
What is Feel-Good Productivity about?
Feel-Good Productivity feels part autobiography and part productivity master class.
Author, Ali Abdaal, walks the reader through his progression from newly trained but already dissatisfied young doctor to productivity researcher and YouTube guru (my descriptive, not his) and the lessons he learned about productivity along the way.
In Feel-Good Productivity, Ali presents a series of 18 research-backed productivity tools; each presented with insight into why it was meaningful to him on his journey.
Sound good?
My Key Take-Aways from Feel-Good Productivity
As I read through Feel-Good Productivity, there were quite a few tools that were completely new to me. I was excited to discover these fresh strategies and incorporate them into my toolkit.
However, I found also found that I was already familiar with some of the tips and tricks that Abdaal presented. As someone who is interested in personal development and productivity, I have come across similar ideas and concepts before (see these connections in my notes below).
Here are my key takeaways from Feel-Good Productivity:
- Everyone has one or more play personalities. Not everyone has fun in the same way.
- Even when you are in a situation that you dislike, you are in charge of how you think and feel.
- It is easier to form a new habit when you set an implementation intention around when you will perform the habit.
- Fear leads to avoidance and procrastination.
- You are not always in a spotlight. People don’t care nearly as much as you think they do.
- The more internally-focused your motivation is, the more likely you will be able to keep going. Conversely, the more externally-focused your motivation is, the more likely you will burn-out.
- Breaks are important. Schedule them to make sure they happen.
- You can’t do everything. Invest in what’s most important.
Keep reading for more of what I found fascinating in Feel-Good Productivity.
My Full Notes on Feel-Good Productivity
The following sections are a direct transcription of my handwritten notes from my Remarkable 2. While taking notes, I tried to indicate direct quotes as such to distinguish from my interpretation of the content. It’s probable that I missed some.
I use the zettelkasten method and Obsidian.md, so I’ve included any mental connections that I made while reading, along with a summary of keywords from each chapter.
Introduction
- mood and creativity #read-more-from Alice Isen
- “broaden and build” #read-more-from Barbara Fredrickson
- broaden – “take in more information and we see more possibilities”
- build – “build up a reservoir of mental and emotional resources”
- Why it works…
- Increase energy – endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin
- Decrease energy – negative emotions have long-term physical impact
- ‘undoing hypothesis’ – Barbara Fredrickson
- enriched life – “more sociable, optimistic, and creative. They also accomplish more.” – pg 12
Keywords from Introduction
Part 1: Energise
Chapter 1: Play
- Play is restorative
- Play doesn’t need to be separate from work
Make life an adventure
- Play personalities #read-more-from Dr Stuart Brown
- Collector
- Competitor
- Explorer
- Creator
- Storyteller
- Joker
- Director
- Kinesthete
Do the Side Quests
- “Seek out fun everywhere” – pg 33
Find the Fun
- “What would this look like if it were fun?” – pg 34
- journey, flow #read-more-from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- find a way to find flow
Find ways to decrease stress
- It’s ok to fail
- Be sincerely engaged #read-more-from Alan Watts
My Connections
This section about stress and failure ties to Brene Brown and letting go of shame. Many times we are so afraid of failure and the shame that it brings that we won’t let ourselves even try.
When we do try, we can allow ourselves to get so stressed about the possibility of failure that we don’t enjoy what we’re doing and eventually just give up.
Brene-Brown, letting-go-of-shame, Brene-Brown_The-Gifts-of-Imperfection
Keywords from Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Power
- self-empowerment creates energy #read-more-from Albert Bandura
Confidence
- “when the going got tough, those that believed they could do it – regardless of their ability – were the ones who actually could.” – pg 53
- self-efficacy – “how much belief we have that we’re able to achieve our objectives” – pg 54
- exercise: visualize how it would go, if you were confident.
- vicarious mastery – look for examples to model #listen-to-more Indie Hackers podcast
Skill development
- enactive mastery – learn through doing
- beginner’s mind – Shoshin approach
- you learn better when you have to teach someone else
- “It’s worth remembering that the people we learn from best are often the one who are just a step ahead of us in the journey” – pg 68
Autonomy
- intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation
- find a way to do it your way
- You are in charge of how you think and feel #read-more-from Viktor Frankl
Keywords from Chapter 2
Chapter 3: People
- Relational energy – our interactions with others affect our mood
- energy map #read-more-from Cross, Baker, Parker 2003
Scenious – Find your scene
- greater results can be achieved when you work within an group of like-minded people
- collaboration – ‘working in parallel’ versus ‘working together’
- synchronicity – literally working in sync
Helper’s high
- “when we help others, our brains release a flood of chemicals that create a natural high.” – pg 88
- can be small tasks to make someone else’s day better
- allowing others to help you gives then the same positive effects that you get.
- assume that people want to help
- ask in person, if you can
- frame request positively
Overcommunicate
- share positive news and react appropriately to other’s positive news – capitalisation
- active and constructive response
- #read-more-from Shelly Gable
- be candid about the not-so-good
- #read-more-from Kim Scott, Radical Candor
- be objective
- focus on the result/consequence
- focus on solutions for next time
Keywords from Chapter 3
Part 2: Unblock
- Getting things done is not always just about motivation and discipline. Legitimate blockers could be preventing you from doing it. If you can figure out what’s blocking your progress, you can address it and move forward.
- Common blockers: confusion, fear, inertia
Chapter 4: Seek Clarity
- confusion can lead to uncertainty paralysis
- people have different levels of tolerance for uncertainty
- commander’s intent
- purpose
- end state
- key tasks
Auftragstaktic – prioritize understanding why over how
- understand your purpose
- five-why’s exercise used to decide if a task is worth doing
- How does this task meet with my overall purpose?
Determining what (end state)
- NICE goals
- Near-term
- Input-based
- Controllable
- Energising
- Crystal ball method – risk assessment
Ask ‘when?’
- implementation intentions – plan when you will make time for your goal during the day
- “If x happens, then I will Y.” – pg 130 #read-more-from Peter Gollwitzer
- time-blocking
Keywords from Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Find Courage
- Fear leads to avoidance/procrastination
Know your fear
- affective labeling
- “labeling theory” – identity
- Rather than giving yourself/taking on a negative label, find a way to give yourself a positive one
My Connections
Labeling theory connects to Brene Brown’s shame work…
Shame comes from labelling ourselves negatively, e.g. “I am a terrible singer.” When you are something, it is part of your identity and you don’t feel like you can change it.
If you can separate your performance from your identity, e.g. “I didn’t hit that note this time,” it is easier to move forward and try again.
In this case, a more positive, less shame-triggering label might be “I am a practicing singer.”
Brene-Brown, shame
Reduce your fear
- Cognitive paralysis – “When we’re scared, we become paralyzed.” – pg 145
- 10:10:10 rule – cognitive reappraisal
- just get started without worrying about the outcome
- “self-confidence = perception of ability – perception of standards” – pg 149
Overcome your fear
- Spotlight effect – people don’t care nearly as much as we think they do.
- “Batman effect” – Imagining you’re an alter ego who has the traits you need but feel you lack.
- #read-more-from Rachel White
Keywords from Chapter 5
Chapter 6: Get Started
- Inertia
Reduce friction
- physical environment
- emotional friction – 5-minute rule
My Connections
5-minute rule connects to Mel Robbins’ 5-second rule. Intention of both is to just get started…
5-minute rule: Do something for just 5 minutes and then keep going if you want.
5-second rule: Count down 5-4-3-2-1 and then go do the thing.
The 5-minute rule is a softer, more forgiving aproach and generally works better for me. Sometimes, though, there are things that just have to be done and then the 5-second rule is the best option.
Mel-Robbins, 5-second-rule
Take action
- what’s the next step? #read-more-from Tim Pychy
- track your progress
Support yourself
- “find ways to encourage yourself as you work towards your goals” – pg 172
- accountability buddy
- give yourself grace – “find the why”
Keywords from Chapter 6
Part 3: Sustain
- sustainability to avoid burn-out
- 3 types of burn-out
- overexertion
- depletion
- misalignment
Chapter 7: Conserve
- Overexertion burnout
Do less, take a break
- “Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” – Jobs
- energy investment portfolio
- List A – Things you’d like to do at some point
- List B – Projects you’re actively investing energy into right now.
- Keep list B limited by the amount of time you have to spend.
- opportunity costs
- “every yes is a no to everything else we could have done with that time and energy” – pg 191
- #read-more-from Juliet Funt, A Minute to Think
Resist distraction
- switching costs
- increase the activation energy required to task switch
- give yourself permission to be distracted temporarily
Break more
- Schedule breaks to make sure they happen – ‘self-regulatory exertions’
- “energising distractions” – pg 205
Keywords from Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Recharge
- Depletion burnout
- Not all things we do while “resting” actually recharge our energy
Recharge creatively
- CALM acronym
- Competence
- Autonomy
- Liberty
- Mellow
- Find hobbies and projects that are CALM.
Recharge naturally
- #read-more-from Roger Ulrich
- “Nature replenishes our cognitive abilities and boosts our energy” – pg 217
- even small doses have a big impact
- get up and walk outside
Recharge mindlessly
- Let your mind wander – default mode network
- Reitoff principle – intentionally write-off a day and relax
Keywords from Chapter 8
Chapter 9: Align
- misalignment burnout
- #read-more-from Kennon Sheldon – motivation
- 3 types of extrinsic motivation
- external motivation – doing it for others
- introjected motivation – doing it out of guilt
- identified motivation – doing it because you want the outcome you will get from it
- intrinsic motivation – doing it for the love of doing it
- “the only type of extrinsic motivation that correlated to greater happiness was identified…” – pg 235
Long-term horizon
- “What does a meaningful existence look like to you?” – pg 238
- eulogy method
- odyssey plan #read-more-from Bill Burnett, Design Your Life (book)
- what do you want your life to look like in 5 years?
- current path
- alternate path
- radical path
- what is possible?
- what do you want your life to look like in 5 years?
Medium-term horizon
- values affirmation intervention – remind yourself of what’s important to you #read-more-from Akira Miyaki, Science journal article
- wheel of life exercise
My Connections
The wheel of life exercise comes from The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. Ali’s professor must have gotten it from there and shared it with his students.
Hal-Elrod, Hal-Elrod_The-Miracle-Morning
My Connections
The wheel of life is also the source of the popular bullet journaling activity, “level 10 life.” I have an article, ‘How to Build Your Level 10 Life,’ and a free worksheet printable for this activity on Flipping BA.
level-10-life, bullet-journaling
- 12-month celebration – For each area of life, what would you love to be celebrating in 12 months?
My Connections
I used this “12-month celebration” idea as the definition step of the level 10 life exercise I did for this quarter (more of a 3-month celebration). It was useful to set guideposts for rating my current state and where I want to be at the end of the quarter.
level-10-life, 12-month-celebration, 3-month-celebration
Short-term horizon
- make daily decisions that align with the values, vision, and goals that you’ve set.
- choose three tasks each day that will move you towards your goals.
- experiment with making change in areas where you feel out of alignment. See what feels good.
Keywords from Chapter 9
misalignment-burnout, Kennon-Sheldon, motivation, extrinsic-motivation, external-motivation, introjected-motivation, identified-motivation, intrinsic-motivation, meaningful-existence, eulogy-method, odyssey-plan, Bill-Burnett, Bill-Burnett_Design-Your-Life, values-affirmation-intervention, Akira-Miyaki, wheel-of-life, 12-month-celebration, daily-decisions, tasks, task-prioritization, daily-planning
Last Word: Think Like a Productivity Scientist
No notes taken.
Go Beyond the Book Notes for Feel-Good Productivity
While these notes share the ideas that were important to me in this book, there’s no substitute for taking it in yourself. Consider reading (or listening) on your own to find what fascinates YOU!
Want to buy it?Where to Go for More from Ali Abdaal
Ali started out on YouTube. At the time of this writing, he has over five million subscribers! If you’re not yet one of them, I highly recommend checking out his main channel (https://www.youtube.com/@aliabdaal). His videos are not only informative and helpful but also incredibly engaging and entertaining.
In addition to his main channel on YouTube, Ali has a few others:
- Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal – A podcast where Ali discusses more on productivity topics. Also available on Apple and Spotify.
- Ali Abdaal – Appendix – A second channel with more informal vlog and behind-the-scenes content.
- Not Overthinking – A podcast that Ali and his brother, Taimur, host discussing life and the human condition.
Apart from YouTube, Ali also has a blog (https://aliabdaal.com/) and a site specifically for this book (https://www.feelgoodproductivity.com/). These platforms serve as additional resources for those who want to dive deeper into the topics discussed in Feel-Good Productivity.
Whether you’re looking for more tips and tricks, behind-the-scenes content, or simply a community of like-minded individuals, Ali Abdaal has got you covered.
What to Read Next if You Like Feel-Good Productivity
If you like Feel-Good Productivity, check out these books that came to mind while I was reading. They elaborate a few of the topics that Ali touched on more briefly.
- Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection
- Mel Robbins’ The 5-Second Rule
- Hal Elrod’s The Miracle Morning
All three of these books have been instrumental in my personal growth journey and are good complements to Abdaal’s Feel-Good Productivity. These books explore the themes of self-acceptance, taking action, and establishing successful routines – all of which are crucial for improving productivity and overall wellbeing.
Check back for notes on these. I read them before I got my Remarkable, so I need to go dig out my old notebooks!
Wrapping Up: My Final Thoughts on Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal
I found Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal to be an insightful and inspiring read. My journey into this realm of what Ali has coined as ‘feel-good productivity’ has paralleled Abdaal’s in many ways, although I’ve never been a doctor.
As someone who puts a heavy emphasis on getting as much done with as little friction as possible, I appreciated the unique perspective that Abdaal brought with his focus on finding joy in the process rather than just achieving results.
Through his personal anecdotes, practical tips and exercises, and scientific evidence, Ali Abdaal has created a practical guide to help individuals become more productive while also finding happiness and fulfillment in their lives.
Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply someone who wants to make the most out of each day, Feel-Good Productivity is a must-read that will provide valuable insights and strategies to help you reach your goals.
“What does a meaningful existence look like to you?” – Ali Abdaal
