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Productivity should always be to fulfill a terminal goal that ideally should excite and benefit you. If you are being productive just for the sake of it, or to

Productivity should always be to fulfill a terminal goal that ideally should excite and benefit you. If you are being productive just for the sake of it, or to get an employer off your back, you’re doing something wrong. I made this mistake in my early 20s. If you do the above you don’t need any tricks. You just follow your curiosity, excitement, and obsession. If you’re not excited by the end goals then you will never be able to bandaid that over with productivity tricks.

jebarker 3y ago
Does "pay mortgage and feed family" qualify as a terminal goal that is exciting and beneficial?
- xyzzy4747 3y ago
  It could if you cut costs and increase your net worth by 20-50% over the next year. Otherwise, no, not very exciting.
  - jebarker 3y ago
    I was obviously being obtuse. But I honestly feel like the attitude that work has to be exciting or meaningful for you to be productive is a bourgeoisie luxury. I get paid well by my employer and therefore I feel a responsibility to be productive for them to an appropriate level. EDIT: in fact, I feel like I made _that_ mistake in my 20s and 30s - looking to work for too much of the meaning and fulfillment in my life.
itishappy 3y ago
I disagree pretty strongly with this. Who gets excited about data entry, invoices, warehouses and shipments, documentation, sanitation, etc.? Games designed purely for excitement hold my attention for a month or two before I need a break. After about 8 years of playing more Factorio than anything else I am at 1800 hours. How on earth can anybody maintain excitement on a single thing for 2000 hours a year, every year? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited by things my company does, but my day job involves a lot of boring necessities. I strongly suspect this is true of most jobs. I obsessively chase my curiosity and excitement in my spare time, and I have a pile of unfinished projects to show for it. I love the sentiment, I just feel it's not reality for most.

jebarker 3y ago

Does "pay mortgage and feed family" qualify as a terminal goal that is exciting and beneficial?

xyzzy4747 3y ago
It could if you cut costs and increase your net worth by 20-50% over the next year. Otherwise, no, not very exciting.
- jebarker 3y ago
  I was obviously being obtuse. But I honestly feel like the attitude that work has to be exciting or meaningful for you to be productive is a bourgeoisie luxury. I get paid well by my employer and therefore I feel a responsibility to be productive for them to an appropriate level. EDIT: in fact, I feel like I made _that_ mistake in my 20s and 30s - looking to work for too much of the meaning and fulfillment in my life.

itishappy 3y ago

I disagree pretty strongly with this. Who gets excited about data entry, invoices, warehouses and shipments, documentation, sanitation, etc.? Games designed purely for excitement hold my attention for a month or two before I need a break. After about 8 years of playing more Factorio than anything else I am at 1800 hours. How on earth can anybody maintain excitement on a single thing for 2000 hours a year, every year? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited by things my company does, but my day job involves a lot of boring necessities. I strongly suspect this is true of most jobs. I obsessively chase my curiosity and excitement in my spare time, and I have a pile of unfinished projects to show for it. I love the sentiment, I just feel it's not reality for most.