These Arrows Will Change Your Outlook on Productivity

A physics-inspired equation for any of your life or work priorities

While attempting to visit the gold gate bridge, I accidentally got on a boat surrounded by elderly couples drinking pina Coladas playing bingo. I was stranded on a ferry heading I-had-no-clue-where.

And it was surprisingly revitalizing.

I spent my afternoon entirely focused on reading the research papers I had downloaded on my computer, but never made the time to get through. After spending the last 4 weeks of my life busily travelling California, I forgot what an empty day dedicated to pure curiosity felt like.

I now prioritize the getting-trapped-on-a-boat-like levels of concentration.

However, focusing is hard. You need to say no to more things to clear your calendar. To overcome barriers to focusing, I’ve created mental models — and this post will outline one of them. The physics of work.

(I’ll extrapolate basic physics equations to life productivity, but note that they’re intended as analogies, not literal representations of physical science.)

The Balance of Effort vs. Outcome

“Work” is the product of force and displacement.

But “work” doesn’t mean setting the 2021 company budget or analyzing the latest customer feedback survey. Work is the energy transferred by a force, causing a…