Why The Most Productive People
Constantly Change Their Methods
The most productive
people think about output deliberately, and then keep switching up their
tactics to get the best results.
"If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," goes the old adage,
but the most productive people throw this advice out the window when it comes
to getting stuff done.
Instead of letting habits, routines,
and best practices rule their day and put them on autopilot, highly productive
people change, and even overhaul, their systems on a regular basis whether they
need it or not, says Charles Duhigg, an investigative reporter for the New
York Times.
Continuously changing your
methods is especially effective for those who struggle to be productive.
Duhigg discovered this counterintuitive
way of thinking while writing his first book The Power of Habit: Why
We Do What We Do in Life and Business. He met some highly productive people,
including Atul Gwande, a staff writer for the New Yorker who
is also a surgeon, researcher, and author of four books. Duhigg decided to find
out why certain people get so much more done in a day than most others, and he
shared those findings in his second book, Smarter Faster Better:
The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business.
"Almost exclusively, I found that the people who are most
productive had decided to think about it deliberately," he says. Letting
habit take over might work for a little while, Duhigg explains, but you won't
notice when it eventually stops working. "Habits are useful tools, but
they can hinder as well as help," he adds. "It’s about choosing to
encourage habits, rather than following them blindly."
The most productive people frequently
try new systems instead of finding and sticking with a single method that fits
their style. "For six months, they’ll use a version of [David
Allen’s Getting Things Done] with files and
ticklers," says Duhigg. "Then, they’ll decide to try a new system,
maybe using color-coded tabs and inboxes. Then they’ll find another new
system," he says. "Constantly cycling through systems forces you to
think about your own productivity."
While some people are naturally more productive, continuously
changing your methods is especially effective for those who struggle to be
productive, says Duhigg. That’s because productivity requires attention, focus,
and a willingness to be challenged.
In his book, Duhigg interviewed professional poker player Annie
Duke, whose decision-making skills boost her productivity. "I asked Annie
why she’s good at decision making and interestingly, she said it’s something
she’s not naturally good at," he says. "In fact, it’s exactly the
opposite. She’s always thinking about it and testing it."
Ironically, the most productive people don’t always feel
productive, adds Duhigg. In fact, they feel that they’re not productive enough,
but they use that worry to design systems that force themselves to think about
productivity. On the other hand, people who believe they are productive often
feel confident and even protective about their methods, leaving them unwilling
to change.
"The easiest thing to do is stop thinking about it,"
Duhigg says. "Highly productive people force themselves to think about
things they might otherwise allow to recede into the background and continually
improve."
STEPHANIE VOZZA
http://www.fastcompany.com/3062639/why-the-most-productive-people-constantly-change-their-methods
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