Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You

Medical doctor-turned-YouTuber Abdaal debuts with an energetic guide to “feel-good productivity,” a practice that promises “success doesn’t lead to feeling good. Feeling good leads to success.” According to the author, positive feelings boost energy and reduce stress, fostering creative thinking, motivation, and inspiration “to pursue our goals.” Such feelings can be achieved through relatively simple interventions; for instance, Abdaal used the prompt “What would this look like if it were fun?” to make studying for postgraduate medical exams more interesting (his solution was listening to music). Readers can harness the power of positivity by asking, “What would it look like if I were really confident at this?” before starting a task (“simply by becoming your own hype team you can dramatically impact your own productivity”) and capitalizing on “energizing distractions” that “forc[e] us to pause, reflect, and tak[e] things at a more reasonable pace,” such as going for a walk in the park or having dinner with a friend. Lucidly written and grounded in persuasive research studies (e.g., cyclists who were given a motivational speech the night before a ride had more stamina than those who weren’t), this presents a wise alternative to a “hustle-harder” culture in which success requires suffering. Abdaal’s solid insights on confidence, motivation, and creativity inspire. [em](Dec.) [/em]