Pilot your Productivity

Welcome to the 11th edition of Notes by Chris B Co.  My routine was thrown a bit last week, but I’m glad I was still able to put this edition together for you.  This week, I’m expanding on a section of Ali Abdaal’s Productivity Masterclass.  Here’s what I’ve written about:

• Ali Abdaal’s Productivity Equation

• The Mental Model of Productivity

• Self-Assessment

• What I’m doing to work on Piloting

• What to watch this week - the PARA method

Please find any of my previous editions here if you've missed them.

01 / ALI ABDAAL’S PRODUCTIVITY EQUATION
Introduction

In previous editions, I’ve touched on my journey with Productivity over time.  I have learned to manage multiple objectives through my teenage years, and I now have a family, work 9-5, and run my own small business ventures.  But in the past year, I’ve been dedicating more effort to understanding the theory and details behind what has always come naturally to me, aiming to improve my productivity and decision-making further.

The Productivity Equation

Productivity measures the rate at which goods and services are produced per unit of input (labour, capital, raw materials, etc).  As a designer, this is how much work can get done in the shortest time possible, with a caveat that quality standards must be reached.

Through his years of research, Ali Adbaal has developed his Productivity Equation, simplifying it and using Time as the input.

Productivity = Useful Output divided by Time x f (fun factor).  The fun factor is Ali’s differentiator to the standard equation.  If you want to learn more about his ideas, go here. There’s no point in being productive if not doing the right things.  That is where the “useful” term is added to “output” in the equation.

We can apply the equation to many situations.  For example, let’s look at an area I’ve written about previously: grocery shopping 

Original results
Useful Output: Weekly shopping completed (100)
divided by
Input: Time to prepare (2×5min) and (+)
Input: Complete two separate trip shopping trips (2×60min)
equals
0.77 (my productivity rating for this task)

Improved results after changes
Useful Output: Weekly shopping completed (100)
divided by
Input: Time to prepare (10min) and (+)
Input: Complete one efficient shopping trip (90min)
equals
1.0 (my productivity rating for this task)

In this example, the productivity improvement expressed as a percentage is:  (1.0 - 0.77) / 0.77 * 100% = 29.87%

The Mental Model of Productivity

In his mental model of productivity, Ali describes the different parts of the Productivity equation as being the Pilot, the Plane, and the Engineer.

The Pilot, usually around 10-15% of your time, is the Useful element of the equation.  It sets the course for the plane and figures out what direction the plane is heading in.

The Plane, around 80% of your time, is the Output.  When operating in Plane mode, all you need to do is follow the course, not deviate, take off efficiently and land safely.  This time as the Plane is your everyday work.

Then, the Engineer, the remaining  5-10% of your time, is the dividing element of the equation.  In this example, it’s Time itself.  Your role as the Engineer is to ensure the plane is efficient, work on fuel efficiency and keep the system organised.

All three elements link together.  Increasing productivity is recognising which of these areas needs the most work and changing your habits to make you better at each area.

Self-Assessment

I completed Ali’s Productivity Masterclass on Skillshare a few months ago. His section on the mental productivity model led to the bulk of my reflection.  Over the last few years, I thought I’d nailed the Engineer aspect and done a power of work acting as the Plane.

I struggled most with the Pilot - determining my direction and knowing which tasks should be prioritised and in which order. As a junior or mid-level designer under the guidance of someone with seniority, the Piloting is mainly done for you.  If you don’t push to become more involved in decision-making or lack development & training, you may reach a plateau in your skillset.  Having worked continuously at one employer for over six years, at some point, I realised that if I wanted to progress in my career, I would need to develop my Piloting abilities proactively.

What I’m doing to work on Piloting

Any meaningful change is rarely something that happens overnight.  In my case, I’ve been working on aspects of what I’m doing now for 15 years!  But it’s probably the last two where my skills in Piloting my direction have been developing strongest, and the benefits are starting to show.  Below are links to what I’ve found to be the four most impactful resources:

1. Subscribed to The Futur & Chris Do
   Resources to help you: “Build a thriving creative business and make a living doing what you love”.
   Free and Paid - I’ve paid for some templates but get the most value from their content.
   YouTube, Podcasts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Online resources
   

2. Member of Profitable Designer run by Patrick O’Connell.
   Resources to Build A Simple & Thriving Design Business
   Free and Paid - I’m a current member and have purchased several paid programs and templates.
   Content is hosted on their website with limited free content on YouTube, Podcasts and Instagram.
   

3. Subscriber to numerous email newsletters about design, design business, productivity, entrepreneurship and creators.  I’m currently subscribed to around 20 and have filters set up so they don’t clutter my inbox.  I often like to read a couple of newsletters before bed each night.  Most of these authors also have content in other mediums that I’ll consume as well.
   Here’s the top 5 (excluding The Futur):

   1. https://aliabdaal.com/newsletter/

   2. https://daydastudio.substack.com/

   3. https://www.justinwelsh.me/newsletters

   4. https://stevesammartino.com/blog/

   5. https://ansondotdesign.substack.com/
      
      

4. The PARA Method. 
   The Simple System for Organizing Your Digital Life in Seconds
   https://fortelabs.com/blog/para/
   Free and Paid - I haven’t needed any paid content yet, but I wouldn’t hesitate if needed.  More below

02 / WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
The PARA Method

Have you ever thought about how much data you come across daily?  Have you needed help remembering important dates?  What are the names of your children’s friends' parents?  What is the history of your car servicing?  Imagine you had a single location that could store all of the information that was important to you but didn’t need to be accessed regularly so that you could remember it.

The PARA method is Tiage Forte’s simple, intuitive system for finding any information right when needed. In the video below, he'll show you how to set up PARA for yourself. 

I will share more about using PARA in a future Notes edition.