In My Summer Reading List post, I listed Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg as a book that I was interested in reading. There are eight chapters that each focus on different habits that increase productivity. Every chapter includes stories from professionals and companies to illustrate how these habits are practiced in the real world. After completing the book, I was inspired to share what I learned about productivity by creating this guide that includes some of the most important points that I took away from the book along with easy ways to implement these ideas into your life.
Pictured above is the definition given for productivity in the introduction of this book. To me, this definition is spot on. When I think about being productive, my main goal is to maximize my accomplishments while minimizing my time and energy spent on a task. People have busy lives and no one wants to spend unnecessary time and energy on something that can be done in a shorter amount of time with the same outcome. In this post, I will explain some simple habits that you can use to become more productive in school, work, and your everyday life.
Motivation
In many cases, we struggle to be productive simply because we lack motivation. Reasons for not being motivated may be because we don’t see the point in what we are doing, or maybe because someone else has assigned us a task which makes us feel less compelled to complete it. Duhigg’s first point is this:
We are triggered by making choices that demonstrate to ourselves that we are in control. Knowing that you have control over certain situations makes you more inclined to take action. A factor that affects this is your locus of control. Those with an internal locus of control tend to blame themselves for their own failure or success whereas those with an external locus of control tend to blame others. People who have an internal locus of control are more successful because they take action and make decisions for themselves which puts them in control of their life.
Another important thing to do if you find yourself unmotivated is to ask yourself why? When it comes to tedious task that may not seem relevant, it is important to remind yourself of the bigger picture and to explain to yourself why this matters.
How to implement this:
- Make choices that put you in control like deciding to wake up early.
- Figure out how each task is related to something that you care about.
- Constantly remind yourself of the bigger picture.
Focus
It is common that when put in stressful situations, our brain goes on autopilot so we perform tasks out of habit and we forget to use our common sense. In addition to this, there are so many distractions in our daily lives, so we often try to multitask instead of giving one task our full attention. 
To avoid losing focus, we should create mental models where we imagine what the outcome of different situations could be. By doing this, we are better equipped when confronted with an issue because we have already developed possible solutions.
How to implement this:
- Imagine what you expect to happen in important situations.
- Keep your space clean to relieve yourself of any unnecessary stress.
Goal setting
We all have goals, both big and small, and some more attainable than others. The problem is that we know what the end goal is, but we aren’t quite sure how to get there. This chapter on goal setting explains how you can take a broad goal and break it down into smaller more manageable goals that you can accomplish on a daily basis.
This can be achieved by combining stretch goals that spark ambition with SMART goals which make them more attainable. If you’ve never heard of a SMART goal, it is a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Making daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals can be helpful but it is important to not lose sight of your end goal when doing this.
How to implement this:
- Figure out what your broad goal is.
- Develop SMART goals that will help you figure out how to achieve your bigger goal.
- Create to-do list but make sure that the tasks on it are relevant and necessary.
Decision Making
Decision making relies on our ability to predict the future. As hard as we may try to determine the future, there are always going to be unexpected obstacles that force us to change our plans and make quick decisions based on our judgment and past experiences.
We should attempt to see the future as many possibilities rather than one outcome because it helps to have a backup plan when things don’t work out how we thought they would originally. We can’t actually predict what will occur in the future, but we can use our past experiences and different perspectives help us to make better-informed decisions.
How to implement this:
- Imagine multiple outcomes for the future.
- Weigh the pros and cons of your decisions prior to making them.
- Seek the opinions and perspectives of others.
Innovation
Each day we are presented with tasks that require us to use our creativity. When people think about creativity, they often think of attempting to create something that has never been done before. In reality, creativity emerges by combining old ideas in new ways. Some of the most original ideas are simply old ideas reinvented. Duhigg also points out how people are often quick to overlook our own emotions and experiences as creative material.
Becoming an “innovation broker” involves paying close attention to your feelings, recognizing how stress can lead to creative desperation, and reminding yourself to not ignore alternative options.
How to implement this:
- Be sensitive to your experiences and feelings because they can help us to generate new ideas.
- Even when you have a creative breakthrough, do not forget to keep your other options in mind.
Absorbing Data
The last chapter in Smarter Faster Better is about learning how to make sense of the information that is presented to us each and every day. We fail to take advantage of the great amount of information that we have such easy access to which is unfortunate because we can use this data to help us be more productive.
I think that most of us overestimate our ability to retain new data which is why it is important that we force ourselves to do something with it. Manipulating data helps us to absorb it, and the better we become at absorbing data, the better we become at using it in our everyday lives. We can use new information to solve problems or to make decisions faster and in a more effective way.
How to implement this:
- Force yourself to do something with new information like writing it down or explaining it to someone else.
- Develop a decision-making system that requires you to draw from the information you have such as a flowchart or a series of questions that you ask yourself.
This book is filled with tons of useful information and research that can help you to transform your life. I would recommend Smarter Faster Better to anyone interested in understanding how the human mind works when it comes to productivity, as well as those who want to be more successful in everything they do.
I hope that this guide helps you to have a better understanding of productivity and how to incorporate some of these habits into your life.
