Beware Tractability Bias | Scott H Young

Tractable tasks are easier. Most people will reach for the easier tasks, increasing competition for that work.

But people often shrink back from complicated work. If you can slog through the difficulties, it becomes more valuable because the competition is reduced. However, not all important work is intractable. We have to pay attention to where intractability and importance meet.

There are efforts we can make in our productivity that can keep us from easy satisfaction.

• Elevate the status of your sincere attempts. Measure your day by the deep work you took on.
• Narrow what counts as the "real" work. Only keep track of your deep work, and not by email, calls and other simple activities.
• Stop tracking. If counting the number of books you read keeps you from reading longer important works - stop counting.