After deciding not to take up full time employment, Chris Bailey instead embarked upon a year of research into productivity. This book is the result of the research, and contains some interesting insights and practical challenges and exercises for the reader. Having set up a fascinating premise, for me this book didn’t really deliver. I have to caveat this review by saying that I did not do many of the challenges he issues in full – not because my limbic brain is taking over (as Bailey would say!) but because many of them were things I’ve already experimented with a fair bit (such as finding out what times of day you have most energy, and experimenting with mindfulness). Counterintuitively, I actually really enjoyed reading the book, because it was broken up into accessible short sections with ‘reading time estimate’ at the top, but I found when I’d finished that I was struggling to see what I’d taken away from the read.
“Research” without scientific rigour?
I felt that despite the book’s premise of being the result of research it was largely founded on personal anecdotes, self-observations and Bailey’s own opinions, rather than real scientific research. There are certainly other researchers and authors mentioned and quoted in the book, but the meat – Bailey’s own experiments – didn’t seem to be set up in a very scientific way. Essentially Bailey picks things that he felt limited or increased his productivity, then maximised or minimised them for set periods of time and judged the results.
We don’t really get a sense of how thorough the experiments have been, or how translatable the results of each is across other human beings. For example – in one experiment Bailey drinks only Soylent (a meal replacement substance) to see if having perfect nutritional balance and cutting out food prep time will have a positive or negative impact on his productivity. He cuts the experiment short very quickly (I think after two days), because he found it so mentally tough and concluded that food brings too much pleasure to him and thus the experiment isn’t worth it. This is not conclusive in any way! Whenever the body needs to adopt something new it often feels uncomfortable at first, but can pay off in the long run. Having experimented a little with this myself two personal examples I can give are cutting carbs, and fasting. The former was hard at first but felt great over the long term (months). I am still in the early (uncomfortable) days of fasting, but I know people who fast consistently on a weekly or monthly basis and say that over time it makes you feel highly alert and healthy. This is just one example, but I use it to make the point that I don’t feel there is much real science behind some of Bailey’s experiments.
What was great about the book?
Good basic introduction to what makes the brain tick, why it can be hard for us to concentrate, and the benefits of sleeping well, keeping hydrated, and taking care of our mental health (through meditation, for example). They are not observations to be dismissed and are supported by a large body of other researchers, so if you’re looking to get into this topic with an easy to read guide it’s worth a read. If you’re already fairly productive and looking to really understand the science behind it or further hone your attention, I feel this isn’t the best investment of time.
Good practical challenges to allow you to start experimenting with productivity techniques and understanding your own mind and body.
Productivity is a balance between time, attention and energy. Bailey notes that in previous years most people worked in a factory set up, where time was the main parameter. You worked a 9-5, and you traded your time for pay. Nowadays, with more office work and the increasingly blurred line between work and home life, it’s more about output. If you balance your energy, time and attention correctly, you can create the same output in less time. Spending more time doesn’t mean good output, if you sacrifice energy (sleep) or attention (getting distracted by tons of things or failing to take time out to meditate).
We’re not good at multitasking. I find this particularly funny as a woman because of the old stereotype that we are good at multitasking whilst men are not so good. In reality, we’re all bad at it. If you want to get a task done, then sole focus is the way forwards (which is of course also a theory behind working methods such as Agile). Bailey suggests a range of tactics including disconnecting from wifi for set periods, rewarding yourself and taking regular breaks.
Being busy and being productive are not the same. It’s important to know what your high value tasks are and set aside dedicated time to get on with them, distraction free. Running around filling every hour of the day (with recurring weekly internal meetings – sound familiar?) doesn’t mean you’re being productive, although Bailey notes it feels great to our brains.
After my last post I had some great recommendations to add to my reading list, so please do keep them coming and let me know what you’re reading at the moment!
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