☄️ You Can't 10x Your Productivity

I recently came across a popular Thread captioned "10 images to 10x your productivity." The graphics are cute, and there are some underlying principles that are solid.

But:

You cannot 10x your productivity. There is no magic tool, approach, notebook, writing device, philosophy, mentality, or habit that can make this happen. None.

You know this intuitively. And yet, at some point in your life, perhaps recently, you've been enticed by the notion of trying something new that would "fix" your subpar productivity. Maybe you've been trying some new method. You may have even purchased something to try and make this happen. Maybe you bookmarked a link or an article that you'll surely return to and that will surely change your life…once you get to reading it.

Hopefully the things you've tried have helped. Boy oh boy, have I tried a lot of things. I'm also an enthusiastic believer in zeroing in on a system that fits your unique personhood and that allows you to get things done in a way that's satisfying and important.

But 10xing productivity (or anything in this vein) is pure clickbait. It takes honest assessment (what are you being productive towards?), trial and error, practice, and commitment to move the needle on productivity. The sooner you give up on trying to find the magic fix, the better.

(though if there's one core practice I believe in that can help anyone get stuff done, it's closing loops)

And now the more philosophical question, say that you could dramatically, instantly boost your productivity. Should you?

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Probably not. Ever since I read it, Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman has been on my mind. I've written briefly about his thesis, that we shouldn't spent every second of our finite time trying to get more stuff done.

He cautions against "clearing the decks." It's silly to focus on just trying to clear out your inbox or check off your to-do list or accomplish everything you need to accomplish, because modern natural law seems to dictate that there will always be more email, more messages, more tasks. It's an efficiency trap, as he puts it.

Three-dimensional productivity is about a broader view of existence, one not focused just on the to-do list. 10xing that type of productivity would be less about gaining efficiency, and much more about spending the time to figure out what you really want from life, and what you can do to nurture your growth and relationships.

That, to me, seems like the thing we should be trying to 10x.