Oliver Burkeman’s newsletter, The Imperfectionist, on the psychology of productivity advice, never fails to disappoint. This latest edition looks at one of the most common methods we use for getting stuff done: force.
What I like about Burkeman is that he genuinely wants to know how to be more productive, but he also knows, from a psychological perspective, just how much productivity advice is bullshit. He knows that, no matter how many emails you reply to, or how well you plan your days, your work-life (and life in general) will still be an uncertain, messy, and frustrating process. Because that’s what life is like.
In this frustration, you’ve probably resorted to the tactic of force - just trying to make yourself do something through sheer force of will. When this strategy ultimately doesn’t work, you naturally beat yourself up for not trying harder. And so the cycle continues. As Burkeman says, “self-forcing just strengthens the underlying belief that work is the kind of thing you have to force yourself to do – and that you’re the kind of person who won't get it done unless you force yourself.”
Self-compassion often works better than self-forcing because the latter strategy isn’t actually very good. It assumes you can control everything, including your multiple selves, with their conflicting fears and motivations. But, if you wouldn’t dominate other people, why do it to yourself? There are better ways of getting stuff done.
The ‘control model’ of working life not only says that you should force yourself to be more productive at all times. It also says you should focus your productivity on one thing in particular. If you want to be a writer then just write. Everyday. Forever.
I agree that focus is important. If you want to be a writer then you probably should write (mostly) every day. But that shouldn’t be the only thing you do. In the TED talk linked to above, David Epstein debunks the idea that success requires focusing exclusively on one thing until you make it. Instead, he shows that the top people in their field typically have multiple interests and projects they pursue at the same time.
Here’s some examples: Nobel prize-winning scientists are 22 times more likely to have a hobby outside of work than normal scientists. Other leading scientists switch topics an average of 43 times in their first 100 academic papers. Virtuoso musicians typically play two or three instruments, before becoming brilliant at playing just one. And elite athletes have an extended “sampling period” when they’re young, trying out a range of different sports before they specialise.
Having multiple interests and projects works for a number of different reasons. But perhaps the most important one is, no matter how much you focus on one thing, you’ll always come up against unexpected problems and setbacks. When that happens, you need as much support as you can get, including alternative goals to focus on and many skills to draw upon. It’s another instance of how strategies of control, force, and domination are limited in comparison to diversity, openness, and connection.
As bodily creatures, human beings don’t like to be uncomfortable. If we could control everything to our liking, we would make sure to be as comfortable as possible - from the types of food we eat to the kinds of people we spend our time with. In this Econtalk podcast, Michael Easter discusses his book, The Comfort Crisis, and how this controlling mindset is not only limiting but also bad for us in the long run.
One of the things Easter talks about at length is the Japanese concept of “misogi”. Misogi is a challenge that pushes you to your limits and expands your understanding of what you’re capable of as an individual - much like the role of rites of passage rituals in more traditional cultures. The number one rule of doing a misogi is that it has to be really hard i.e. there should be a 50% chance of actually being able to do it.
With a 50/50 chance of success, a misogi is truly out of your control. That’s why completing one can be such a profound experience, according to Easter. You don’t just stay in your “comfort zone”. You literally become a different person - someone you doubted you could ever be beforehand. That’s what happens when you lean into discomfort and uncertainty. It is a kind of magic.
Have you ever done anything like a misogi? I’d love to hear about it if so. Feel free to write a comment below or send me a direct message. In the meantime, I’ll try and think up a misogi of my own!