Productivity Is For Robots

1. Reconnect with Humanity to Combat Robotic Productivity

Productivity is for robots. What we’re really good at is wasting time. Innovation isn’t efficient. Art is not efficient. Relationships are not efficient. Efficiency is for robots.

The trap of robotic productivity. In the modern world, there's a tendency to prioritize speed, efficiency, and optimization, mimicking the traits of technology. This can lead to burnout and a loss of connection with what truly matters. The key is to recognize that humans are not robots and should not try to compete with them on their terms.

Rediscovering human traits. To combat this, it's essential to reconnect with the qualities that make us human: connection, creativity, and purpose. This involves shifting focus from mere output to meaningful engagement with ourselves, others, and the world around us. It's about recognizing that true productivity stems from alignment with our values and passions.

Practical steps for reconnection. This reconnection can be achieved through various means, such as spending time in nature, nurturing relationships, engaging in creative pursuits, and practicing mindfulness. By prioritizing these activities, we can create a more balanced and fulfilling life, one that values human connection over robotic efficiency.

2. Rewrite Your Internal Narrative for a Positive Mindset

What could have been, turns into what would have been, turns into what was.

The power of self-talk. The stories we tell ourselves shape our reality. Negative self-talk can create limiting beliefs and hinder our progress, while positive self-talk can empower us to overcome challenges and achieve our goals. The reticular activating system (RAS) in our brain filters information based on our beliefs, reinforcing the stories we tell ourselves.

Cognitive reappraisal. Cognitive reappraisal is the act of shifting an initial negative response into a more positive or beneficial one. This involves re-interpreting events in our lives with a more optimistic view. For example, instead of asking "Why is this happening to me?" ask "What is this teaching me?"

Changing the conversation. To change the stories playing in your head, first realize that many of them don’t even belong to you. They come from other people. It’s other people’s limiting beliefs and negative perceptions that incept our own thoughts over time. We collect them through childhood and beyond, but we don’t have to keep them forever.

3. Embrace Interdependence for Well-being and Creativity

As a member of society, man is interdependent. Not, independent, Sammy, interdependent. Life is too complex for there to be any truth in the old slogan of every man for himself.

The myth of the lone genius. Society often celebrates individualism and self-reliance, but humans are inherently social creatures. Isolation and loneliness can have detrimental effects on our mental and physical health. The key is to recognize the importance of interdependence and nurture meaningful connections with others.

Evolutionary hardwiring. For millions of years, our ancestors lived in small tribes, relying on each other for survival. This has hardwired us to seek connection and cooperation. Simple acts like holding the door open for a stranger or making small talk with a cashier can help combat the consequences of loneliness.

Benefits of connection. Quality time with other humans goes beyond being a good friend or partner. It keeps us on the right side of biology. It keeps us healthy and human. We cannot maintain a strong connection to ourselves without a connection to others.

4. Cultivate Solitude and Silence for Mental Clarity

In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.

The value of solitude. While human connection is essential, solitude is equally important. It allows us to recharge, reconnect with ourselves, and gain valuable perspective. However, true solitude requires silence, a rare commodity in today's noisy world.

The power of silence. Silence allows us to listen to our own thoughts and emotions without the distractions of external stimuli. It can be deafening at first, but with practice, it can become a source of clarity and insight.

Creating solitude. In today's world, solitude doesn't just happen; it must be intentionally created. This might involve turning off technology, spending time in nature, or practicing meditation. The goal is to create space for introspection and self-reflection.

5. Inject Playfulness into Work and Life

The opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression.

The importance of play. Play is not just for children; it's a fundamental human need that promotes learning, socialization, and stress reduction. Playful adults are more resilient, adaptable, and creative. The key is to inject playfulness into all aspects of life, including work.

Play as an approach. Play doesn't always have to be a verb. Play is also an approach. An ingredient to sprinkle over work, school, sex, and love. Being playful with the important things in our lives doesn’t mean we don’t take them seriously, but it does serve as a wise reminder that, as a whole, life doesn’t need to be so damn serious.

Reconnecting with your inner child. Our ability to imagine, create, and focus is connected to our ability to play. To be playful. To laugh, love, and just be. Play oils the gears. It waters the flowers and pulls the weeds. It’s the emotional time travel that reconnects us with our inner child.

6. Challenge Your Beliefs to Expand Your Perspective

You’re only as young as the last time you changed your mind.

The danger of fixed beliefs. Attaching our identities to our beliefs can make questioning those beliefs scary. But now, more than ever, truth is a moving target. New tools for blurring fact into fiction are being invented every day. Having the capacity—and the appetite—to sift through new information and welcome opposing ideas is vital for anyone who wants to thrive in the new world.

Empathy and perspective. AI and technology can do a lot, but it’s light-years away from replicating human empathy. And it’s empathy that allows us to think, feel, and see things from a different point of view. Without it, there is no human connection.

Seeking out opposing views. To combat this, they actively sought out the people and information that could change their minds. They already knew what they believed. What they wanted was to be proven wrong.

7. Harness Nature's Power to Rejuvenate Your Mind

The mountains are calling and I must go.

The human connection to nature. Humans evolved outdoors so it shouldn’t come as a surprise how connected—and dependent—our minds and bodies are to nature. Multiple studies have shown that people who can see trees from their hospital windows recover faster. In Illinois, a researcher named Frances Kuo found that the more trees a housing project had, the lower the crime rate.

Forest bathing. The Japanese even developed what they call, shinrin-yoku—the practice of “forest bathing.” Now, if you’re picturing naked bodies swan diving into piles of fallen leaves, you might not be far off, however, forest bathing can be as simple as activating all the senses while in nature. It’s feeling the wind, hearing the stream, and smelling the pine.

Nature as a reminder. The world is easier to appreciate when you don’t think of yourself as the center of it. And while it might seem counterintuitive, the easiest way to reconnect with ourselves is by letting go of our own point of view. Nature is there to remind us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

8. Practice Self-Awareness Through Journaling

What you are aware of you are in control of; what you are not aware of is in control of you.

The limitations of introspection. Most of us—myself included—tend to self-reflect inside our head. We replay old scenes on the mental projector in our mind. Self-reflection like this is like getting dressed in the dark—you might get your pants on, but they’re probably backward and definitely won’t match your shoes. That’s because introspection doesn’t always equal insight.

Journaling as a tool. There is one tool, however, that works to drag the lake of murky emotions out of the dark room and into the open. It’s been used as a secret weapon by some of history’s greatest leaders, artists, and icons to find wisdom and self-mastery. It’s the daily practice of keeping a journal.

The power of emptying. One of the gifts of journaling is the ability to go back—to re-read, re-live, and remember who we were and how we felt at different points in our life. But the power of journaling isn’t only in the collecting, it’s also in the emptying. Because as ink fills the page, our inner canvas gets washed clean.

9. Align Productivity with Purpose for Fulfillment

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

The emptiness of ambition. Our longing to be productive is connected to our primal urge for ambition. Our impulse to add value, produce, and be useful members of the tribe goes beyond our basic need for survival. To feel and act upon our ambition is what it means to be human. Ambition alone, however, does not create purpose.

What is life asking of me? Viktor Frankl knew that he and the other prisoners needed something deeper than the basic impulse to survive if they wanted to make it out of Auschwitz. They needed a purpose that lived outside of themselves—a calling that connected them to a greater good. Frankl found this purpose not by asking, “What do I want from life?” but by asking, “What is life asking of me?”

Purpose follows action. You won’t find waves of inspiration unless you’re in the water paddling. Try new things. Explore different ideas. Turn curiosity into a verb and you’ll discover new interests, passions, and a sense of purpose.

10. Capture Inspiration While It's Hot

Write while the heat is in you.

The fleeting nature of inspiration. Anyone who’s had a creative epiphany knows that they don’t arrive on a set schedule. Liftoff often happens at random, when we’re focusing on other things. Like Bernie in the car, a new idea will reach down from the night sky and whisper in our ear when we least expect it.

Balancing mystical communication and labor. Creativity, however, remains unfulfilled until the traveler comes back to turn inspiration into action. Many people lift-off and sprawl across the incorporeal realm of possibility, yet never return to the material world to produce their vision.

Taking action. Taking action with your ideas right away doesn’t mean they won’t continue to evolve over time, or that you have to stop thinking about them. The lesson here is to grab that initial spark from the outer world of imagination and deliver it into reality as soon as possible. Write it down. Feed it real-world oxygen. Allow yourself to hold it in your hand and see it for what it is.

11. Trust Your Intuition and Let Ideas Drive

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

The power of intuition. We’ve all had those aha! moments. Those Bernie-in-the-car-singing-“Rocket-Man”-moments. That feeling in our gut that says, this way, this way. And yet, there’s an unfortunate habit among humans to follow this intuition only until we can no longer justify it with logic.

Letting ideas drive. It’s what the comedian Dave Chappelle describes as letting ideas drive. He tells Jerry Seinfeld in an episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee: Sometimes the offering drives. If I [have] an idea, it should drive. It’s like the idea says, “Get in the car.” And I’m like, “Where am I going?” And the idea says, “Don’t worry, I’m driving.”

Calibrating the compass. Creativity is a tool that calibrates the compass. So that when the map leads to a dead end, we’re capable of finding an escape route.

12. Adapt to Change by Becoming the Ocean

If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll be seasick every day.

The inevitability of change. In a world of uncertainty, change is the only thing to be certain of. Our tastes, desires, and perspectives change with the wind; revealing new sides of ourselves and unearthing layers long forgotten. Still, we plan for the future based on who we are now.

Building with time in mind. Human life is a life of continual transformation. We need to build our foundation with time in mind. Design our structures with an acceptance that we don’t know what’s going to happen, how the world will look, or who we’re going to be.

The tools to adapt. Human creativity gives us the tools to adapt; the tools to become the ocean. When we build our foundations with curiosity, empathy, imagination, and courage, we prepare ourselves to adapt to the changes in the world that are outside our control.

Last updated: April 11, 2025