
Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You

Think of time blocking as a budget for your time. Just like you allocate your income to different categories like rent, groceries, entertainment and savings, you allocate your 24 hours to different activities. And just like monetary budgeting can give you financial freedom, time blocking can give you time freedom.
Ali Abdaal • Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You
According to recent neuroscientific research, even when we’re ‘doing nothing’, our brains are still active. In particular, there’s a region of the brain called the ‘default mode network’ (DMN) that governs the strange places our absent minds go to. The DMN helps us to recall memories,7 to daydream and to imagine the future. And it becomes more acti
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Input-based: Input-based goals emphasise the process, rather than some distant, abstract end-goal. Whereas an output-based goal would home in on the end result – ‘Lose 5kg by the end of the year’, ‘Hit the bestseller list with my book’ – an input-based goal would focus on what we can do in the here and now – ‘Go for a ten-minute walk everyday’, ‘Wr
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The idea of the ‘energy investment portfolio’ is simple. You simply come up with two lists. List A is a list of all your dreams, hopes and ambitions. These are things you would like to do at some point, just probably not right now. List B is a list of your active investments. These are the projects you’re actively investing energy into right now (o
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The 10/10/10 Rule
Ali Abdaal • Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You
The key is to create a balance that works for you – your ideal week reflecting your priorities, ambitions and personal circumstances.
Ali Abdaal • Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You
Today, I apply this insight to my own life every day. Previously, when I embarked on a project my instinct was to immediately press ahead, planning every step – without ever really thinking about my desired end-state. But this level of obsessive planning can prove an obstacle. I would get so bogged down in ticking off specific tasks that I would lo
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Fortunately, the power of all three emotional blockers can be reduced. In the pages that follow, we’ll explore how precisely these negative feelings affect us and sap our energy.
Ali Abdaal • Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You
One Zen concept that came up time and again in Jackson’s coaching practices was the Japanese word shoshin, which roughly translates as ‘beginner’s mind’. Shoshin refers to a state of mind in which we approach every task and situation with the curiosity, openness and humility of a beginner.