Here are two models I’ve found useful for generating solutions to productivity challenges.
The first model is that we’re basically flawed machinery. We forget things, we procrastinate, we get distracted– all because our minds really weren’t built for the world we live in. So the fix is that we need tools to make up for our brain’s machinery. Calendars, reminders, and todo lists help us remember. Goal setting, explicit prioritization, and commitments help us stay on task to do the things that matter amid a world of possible distractions and temptations. Pomodoros, coworking, and good work environments help us stay focused. Most standard productivity tools are intended to fix the “flawed machinery” model of why we mess up.
My second model is an internal conflict model. This model says that we’re acting consistently with our preferences almost all of the time…we just have a lot of different parts that want different things and are fighting with each other to determine our actions. We often only endorse and listen to one part of ourselves, which makes all the other parts seem like they aren’t really there. But they are there, and they are influencing our actions. The needs for rest, validation, and connection to other people frequently throw up quite a bit of resistance if you’re ignoring them. This might seem from the outside like procrastinating, but really it’s just that a different part of you is controlling your actions right now because you won’t meet its needs otherwise. Under this model, you need to understand the different parts, figure out what they need, and then make sure everyone’s needs are met. Once you’ve moved from “internal conflict” to “internal alignment”, then you’ll do what you think is important. In practice, this often looks like doing a bunch of work to understand yourself.
I doubt either of these models are true on a neuroscience level, but they can both be useful narratives for productivity. Most of the super productive people I know have both a robust productivity system and good internal alignment. When clients repeatedly fail to implement productivity tools, then I’ve found that something in the internal alignment space often helps. On the other hand, I’ve yet to see people reliably succeed by relying on internal motivation to always do the most important thing without good productivity systems.
Yet I’ve found that it’s often hard to work on internal alignment. For starters, we don’t have a shared vocabulary and set of tools. There is no internal alignment equivalent of Getting Things Done. Secondly, internal alignment often requires working through hard parts of yourself. You might need to address your fear of failure or your own insecurity over being worthy. That’s no easy task.
Here I’ve put together a list of resources that might help you better understand internal alignment and how to work towards it. These are roughly in order of how I suggest you work your way through them.
Learn to identify your emotions
First of all, what are you feeling right now? It turns out that a lot of people have a hard time with this. If your answer is something like “Happy, I guess?”, then I suggest you start with this lovely post on emotional awareness.
Journal or talk to someone
My second recommendation is a technique, rather than a resource. I’ve found it’s really hard to process a complicated set of emotions/needs/conflicts solely in my head, and this seems to be a common phenomenon (not surprising, given what we know about the limits of working memory). So process them outside of your head. Talking with another person or journaling are the best/most common ways I’ve heard. Friends, coaches, and therapists can be excellent for this. Try writing down what you’re feeling, why you might be feeling it, and what you want to do about it. I always have a little journal and pen handy.
Meditate
If you have a hard time identifying your emotions, you may also have a hard time sitting with negative emotions. I enjoy the non-judgmental aspect of mindfulness and meditation for that problem – the attitude that “it’s okay that I’m feeling bad, I don’t need to distract myself or make it go away.” I cobbled together my mindfulness practice from a bunch of sources, but I know a few people who swear by Sam Harris’s waking up app. Here’s one rationalist take on mediation for purposes similar to internal alignment.
Focusing
Focusing is a technique for understanding complicated emotions invented by a psychologist named Eugene Gendlin. Focusing is like running an experiment where you manipulate mental narratives and see which cause a corresponding shift in your emotional state. You can read or listen to Gendlin’s book. This article covers identifying the “felt sense” or shift in your emotional state. If Gendlin’s framing doesn’t click with you, you could try “Focusing” for skeptics or Labelling Feelings 101.
Internal Double Crux
Internal Double Crux is a technique developed by the Center for Applied Rationality (CFAR) for resolving disagreements between the different part of yourself by simulating a dialogue.
Minding Our Way
The Replacing Guilt blog series is a good introduction to some key ways of listening to and collaborating with yourself. It covers topics like how to make bargains with yourself that you’re happy to fulfill.
Internal Family Systems
If you’ve gotten through the previous resources and still want more, Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a kind of weird therapy approach that seems to help people understand better the idea of having different parts within themselves. This can range from “I have multiple motivations to balance” to having full on different characters representing different parts of oneself. This post does a decent job explaining it.