Owen Cotton-Barratt: I don't think I have something I would describe as a productivity system. I think I have some principles. The most important things are maybe giving myself space to think. I think that space for things like shower thoughts is often pretty important and undervalued. I think that it could be that a bunch of people would benefit if they forced themselves for a month to be like, "I'm not going to work more than 20 hours a week." Because they would end up doing a bunch of background thinking on how to like, "What do I actually most want to do with these hours?" And that kind of implicit prioritization would end up being both just object level useful for that month, and also, kind of good habit building. I've never actually persuaded someone to try this. I never made a good attempt at persuading someone to try it. I'm not sure exactly whether that it's a good idea. 

I frequently hear concerns about burnout in EAs who are unsustainably pushing themselves in pursuit of the greater good. And I get it. We’re racing a marathon, not a sprint, and rest is vital. Yet, for people striving for causes they care so passionately about, it can also be hard to slow down. 

What if there was a way to balance both? 

In today’s interview, I’m joined by Niel Bowerman, an AI policy specialist at 80,000 Hours. Among other topics, Niel shares how he implements 80,000 Hours’ bout system, which alternates sprints on a focused goal with more relaxed planning periods. 

Do you feel sleepy enough during the day that it impairs your ability to function? Do you fall asleep involuntarily during the day? Do you feel tired enough that you feel weak, have difficulty doing things, or feel unable to focus?  

If you answered yes to any of these questions, here’s a set of guidelines to help you figure out what’s worth trying. I start with generally applicable advice for daytime sleepiness and fatigue, then cover signs that would indicate more rare causes you can investigate. If feeling tired is significantly impairing your productivity, the information value of trying these experiments is probably well worthwhile.

Productivity is a hot topic in effective altruism. We’re all trying to effectively move toward our goals. Many of us have theories about what works to accomplish big goals. But are these intuitions right? Do they actually work? 

Today, Will shares his advice to copy successful people rather than try to figure it out from scratch, at least when you’re doing something new.

“I didn’t get much done last week because it was so hot.”

It wasn’t the first time a client said this to me, and I was curious. “Have you considered getting an air conditioner if it’s that bad?”

“No” He replied (let’s call him Philip), “An open window is usually enough. It’s just that the heatwave this week was particularly bad.” When we discussed it a bit more, Philip said it didn’t seem worth the hassle since the AC only really felt necessary for a few weeks during the summer.

So, was Philip right? Is it worth buying an AC as a productivity hack?