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A review by pocketbard
Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal
I’ve had a rocky relationship with Abdaal’s YouTube content for a while – some I like a lot, some I deeply dislike. But I wanted to check out his book, Feel-Good Productivity, and see how he distills down his philosophy. The good first: it’s a quick, accessible read. I like how actionable it is, even if sometimes it feels a little shoehorned to fit his structure (3 sections with 3 chapters each, and each of those chapters is broken down into 3 sections with 2 “experiments” each). I also like how he explicitly tells the reader to try things out, keep what they want, and throw out the rest. And, finally, I like how the focus is on being in alignment and feeling good, as opposed to squeezing every drop of productivity out of a day, without regard for whether it’s actually helping you or not.
That said, the experiments themselves were a mixed bag for me. Some of them were genuinely interesting and things I’ll probably try for myself (like the “wheel of life” alignment exercise from chapter 9 or the “five whys” clarity-seeking exercise from chapter 4). Many of them are things I already do (like teaching others the things I’m trying to learn, embracing a collaborative mindset, and asking myself “what’s the next action step I could take toward this goal”). Some of them I know from experience won’t work for me (future-casting, time blocking / scheduling breaks, and accountability buddies, just to name a few). But what really bothers me is that certain experiments almost certainly won’t work for people who are neurotypical and/or have chronic health conditions – things like “stop spotlighting” from chapter 5 (i.e. remember that most people are not, in fact, thinking about you all that much) doesn’t work when you’ve been labelled as “weird” all your life. “Overcommunicating” from chapter 3 doesn’t work if you have a tendency to info-dump or talk too much already.
Still, as I said, Abdaal suggests you treat the experiments as, well, experiments. He’s casting a broad net, and not everything he suggests will work for everyone. I choose to appreciate the book for the suggestions that DO work for me, as opposed to the ones that won’t.
That said, the experiments themselves were a mixed bag for me. Some of them were genuinely interesting and things I’ll probably try for myself (like the “wheel of life” alignment exercise from chapter 9 or the “five whys” clarity-seeking exercise from chapter 4). Many of them are things I already do (like teaching others the things I’m trying to learn, embracing a collaborative mindset, and asking myself “what’s the next action step I could take toward this goal”). Some of them I know from experience won’t work for me (future-casting, time blocking / scheduling breaks, and accountability buddies, just to name a few). But what really bothers me is that certain experiments almost certainly won’t work for people who are neurotypical and/or have chronic health conditions – things like “stop spotlighting” from chapter 5 (i.e. remember that most people are not, in fact, thinking about you all that much) doesn’t work when you’ve been labelled as “weird” all your life. “Overcommunicating” from chapter 3 doesn’t work if you have a tendency to info-dump or talk too much already.
Still, as I said, Abdaal suggests you treat the experiments as, well, experiments. He’s casting a broad net, and not everything he suggests will work for everyone. I choose to appreciate the book for the suggestions that DO work for me, as opposed to the ones that won’t.