(1) Task Breakdown. Are most people aware that the knowledge work skills above even exist — let alone breaking them down into their individual micro-tasks?(2) Measurement how long each task takes. Do most people track their time? If so, are they tracking their micro-tasks?(3) Experiment to find the one best way. Are people simply using good-enough rules of thumb or are they using the scientific method to find the optimal approach?(4) Train for standardization. Once the optimal approach has been figured out, are most people being trained in them?

The 50x Productivity Framework (PART 1)

(5) Productivity doesn’t make us a machine. One of the main reasons science has progressed so far is tools that help us get finer grain, objective perspectives on reality than our senses can. I now understand how timing myself and building a granular, objective map of my thought/action process can augment my humanness rather than stunting it. (6) Small productivity gains aren’t frivolous. Amazing productivity gains come from small hacks, which individually seem frivolous, but together add up to mind-boggling change.

The 50x Productivity Framework (PART 2)

Just like the microscope unveiled entire universes of organisms (viruses, germs) and matter (quarks, atoms), finer attention to detail opens a whole new world of productivity. (7) Knowledge work productivity can be 50x’d. Knowledge work is still in its infancy. This means that the potential gains we can have with the existing tools may be much larger than anyone thinks. (8) Productivity is essential to non-productivity. The more efficient we are at work individually and collectively, the more time we have to carve out for slow, deep living not based on optimization.

The 50x Productivity Framework (PART 3)

(9) It’s worth each of us individually spending hundreds (if not thousands) of hours improving our productivity. “We realized that the true problem, the true difficulty, and where the greatest potential is — is building the machine that makes the machine. In other words, it’s building the factory. I’m really thinking of the factory like a product.” Elsewhere,

If you want to be more productive, you need to build your knowledge factory first.

Peter Drucker, one of the most respected management thinkers in history, stated these words at the close of the 20th century. Drucker isn’t just talking about 50x productivity for the smartest…

In 1911, a genius revealed a forgotten science of how to be 50x more productive without working…

I've been thinking a lot about the human sense of contribution. The idea that everything you do matters is quite life-changing.And you can easily think that what you do doesn't matter that much. That you are only a genetic variation in an almighty multiverse. When you can truly reverse it and formulate a healthy way of viewing life and thinking that everything matters.

The Human Sense of Contribution 

I’ve been doing this exercise lately, where every time I’m going outside for a daily walk, I will pick up at least one piece of trash, of garbage. It doesn’t really matter how small or big it is, but only about leaving the world just a little bit healthier when coming back to my comfortable home after a day’s journey into the outside world. And I found that this helps my daily sense of contribution. And on a micro-practical level, it helps the world.

The Power of Small Wins

The world has to suffer because we are struggling to find peace, as we are confused with our options. The Paradox of Choice. It’s like we are the spoiled child of the world, causing nothing but trouble. And mother Earth still loves us, but I’m wondering, for how long?

Making Peace With Mother Earth 

Some thoughts on simplicity and mindful thinking 

I’ve been thinking a lot about the human sense of contribution. The idea that everything you do matters is quite life-changing. I remember watching a lecture a few years ago and, there is one concept…

Web Treasures

Picking Up 1 Piece of Trash a Day

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor">Frederick Winslow Taylor</a> is the creator of the science of management. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker">Peter Drucker</a> attributes almost all the important management innovations in the last century:<ul><li>industrial engineering</li><li>work enrichment</li><li>job rotation</li><li>assembly line</li><li>total quality management</li><li>quality circle</li><li>continuous improvement</li><li>lean manufacturing</li></ul>“The most important, and indeed the truly unique, contribution of management in the 20th century was the fifty-fold increase in the productivity of the manual worker in manufacturing.” - Peter Drucker

The Maker of the Modern World (Part 1)

<ul><li>For hundreds of years there had been no increase in the ability of workers to turn out goods or to move goods.</li><li>Over the long run, productivity determines what governments societies adopt.</li><li>If productivity drops for too long, revolutions happen.</li></ul>

More productive without working more hours

“You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.”— Nobel laureate Robert Solow

Most people into productivity (including myself) had never heard of the most important breakthrough in the history of productivity or the person behind it.I wanted to understand why the 50x shift happened in the first place and how to replicate it with knowledge work instead of just manual work. After all, who doesn’t want a 50x productivity boost?

The Greatest Productivity Hack 

The principles of scientific management “can be applied with equal force to all social activities: to the management of our homes; the management of our farms; the management of the business of our tradesmen, large and small; of our churches, our philanthropic institutions, our universities, and our governmental departments.”

An entire week's work in less than an hour

In 1977, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor">Frederick Winslow Taylor</a> was ranked the #1 contributor ever to management thought and practice by a panel of business and economics historians beating out the likes of John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Alfred Sloan, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford.If you read <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker">Drucker</a>, there is no confusion about the root cause of the productivity revolution. It all goes back to one person — <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Winslow_Taylor">Frederick Winslow Taylor</a>.

The Maker of the Modern World (Part 2)

Taylor was later diagnosed with the eye condition of Astigmatism. A condition which today is easy to diagnose and fix. Straining to focus on words was what caused the headaches.Taylor dropped out. So, by a weird quirk of fate, Taylor went to the shop floor as an apprentice machinist rather than Harvard to become a lawyer.

The Maker of the Modern World (Part 3)

The Ultimate RULE of Productivity and why most of what you know about productivity is incorrect. 

For a long time, the 1980s and ’90s have been considered the NBA’s “golden years,” first with the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and then with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. <ul><li>Whatever its flaws, the NBA is one of the more functional institutions in American society.</li></ul> <ul><li>Talent so plentiful that even the middling teams are full of strong players. The broader lessons for the world economy are very optimistic.</li></ul> <ul><li>Viewed from the present, however, so many of those teams and players seem mediocre.</li></ul>

Talent rules, but...

In general, today’s NBA talent is better coached, assessed & receives better medical care, making it easier to recover from injuries. <ul><li>The 3 top MVP candidates all come from outside the U.S. — Jokic is from Serbia, Embiid from Cameroon, and Antetokounmpo is from Greece and originally Nigerian.</li></ul> <ul><li>all about seven feet tall, and they are all capable of hitting shots from three-point range.</li></ul> <ul><li>That is a skill most tall stars did not have until recently, and it is a sign of better teaching and training.</li></ul>

MVPs come from outside the U.S.

The NBA shows that it is possible, over time, to do a much better job of both finding and mobilizing talent. <ul><li>most parts of the world are not as well-run as the NBA, so the process will be slower than it ought to be. But it is underway.</li><li>imagine business and science (and maybe politics?) all improving at the rate of professional basketball.</li><li>the process will be slower than it ought to be, but it is underway.</li></ul>

Global talent is more accessible than ever

A short and sweet analogy: NBA vs. The World Economy

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Whatever its flaws, the NBA is one of the more functional institutions in American society. Two years ago, as Covid was advancing, the league was quick to shut down the regular season, and in the summer of 2020 it pulled off the playoffs bubble with few hitches.

Talent Rules in Both the NBA and the World Economy

This is why you want to expand your knowledge and skill repertoire so that you can gain some competitive advantage.Combine a handful of skills that are rarely linked to each other, rarely blended together.Examples:<ul><li class="ql-indent-1"> 	 Doctor& YouTuber/Streamer</li><li>Computer Science & SEO/SEM Marketing</li><li>UI Designer + Mathematician</li><li>Historian + Lawyer + Statistician</li><li>Programmer + Philosopher + Public Spe  aker</li></ul>

Thriving in the Technology Era is a Harsh Sport

You are not trying to master and combine 50 different random skills and juggle an overwhelming amount of snowballs that can ultimately melt in your hands.You are simply spreading your wings just a little bit more, a well thought spread I might say. Flying across the world of various skills and playgrounds that can be rarely found in the same mix.

View yourself as an Experimenter

"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough."- Albert Einstein:::Meaning = if you are not able to translate your thought processes’ outputs into meaningful, actionable advice one can learn and build on is a huge loss for the future of humanity.A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_interface_design">UI designer</a> might be a skillful wizard with his craft, but making your project understandable for a non-designer, making him appreciate and then build on its true value, that’s a huge leap in our communication infrastructure.

Translate your thoughts 

In today’s world, if your phone is not in your pocket, it feels like you have missing limb syndrome.Whether we like it or not, we are already on our way to becoming a cyborg, on a real path to morphing into an AI symbiote.

Your Phone: The Missing Limb Syndrome

Engaging in the Public Speaking sphere is yet another handy practice one should think about.It not only forces you to think logically, critically, and also strategically, but it can act as a stepping stone for your future live endeavors. This skill has extended real-life applications.Having and engaging in difficult conversations will stretch out your mental apparatus, making you more organized and prepared for what’s yet to come.

Engage in Public Speaking

These are some thoughts on how to become a specialized generalist in the digital and non-digital era. 

This is why you want to expand your knowledge and skill repertoire so that you can gain some competitive advantage. My solution is quite simple: combining a handful of skills that are rarely linked…

How To Become a Specialized Generalist

I believe you can produce insight even if you are not an autistic genius.You can simply integrate massive amounts of stimuli per unit of time and change.Train yourself to get back to first principles thinking.

What type of genius are you?

If you are feeling sad, you can make other people love you.Make is a strong word, but hear me out! If you are sufficiently effective to prove yourself useful multiple times and produce things, people will be naturally more drawn to you.It is far more effective to build yourself an incubator where you can gather and have conversations with people on the same spectrum, but different in subtle ways.

Build a Growth Incubator Full of People (Part 1)

In the old days, if you owned something like an Inn, you pretty much had it covered. You would connect to people by default, providing food, drinks, and shelter on a rainy day. You could then make favors and have leverage. Remember the <a href="https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/Vander">Vander</a> and the <a href="https://youtu.be/1KauKfmOsLk">first episode of Arcane</a>? mini-spoiler alert::::man: You folks need anything?woman: Leave us.man: You sure about that? Sounded to me like…woman: Piss off.man: Ah. ( object scrapes ) I think I know what you need.woman: You don’t seem to listen, barman…man: A bit of advice. Don’t threaten the guy who pours the drinkswoman: So you’re Vander.

Build a Growth Incubator Full of People (Part 2)

You can become lethal by developing skills as a non-technical individual, assuming that you have some blend of self-awareness and some method to absorb the world around you. If you storm through the city during rush hour, managing to solve micro-errands, texting, catching the bus, employing various and personal self-orientation techniques while keeping your head clear and protecting your decision-making capabilities, you are on the right track. If you believe what you want to do and gradually prove yourself legit, the world itself will shape around your goals. Less talk, more work.

Non-technical, but useful

Genius is such an overrated buzzword. You can become one in your own way.

Do that by sensing the inflections happening when you are surrounded by small and huge amounts of social energy. Do not blindly follow everything. Because everything can become anything. That can put…

Become a strategic genius

Are video games good or bad for you?Short answer: yes, if you are using them strategically. <ul><li>Video games improve our memory and visual navigational system</li><li>Video games help improve our problem-solving ability</li><li>Video games can help reduce cognitive decline that happens naturally as we age</li><li>Gamers are better at allocating attention</li><li>Video games might be able to help conditions like anxiety and depression</li></ul>

The Surprising Benefits of Gaming

A 2015 study from the University of California compared gamers versus non-gamers. EXPERIMENT 1People who played 3D games performed better at memory tasks than people who played 2D games like Angry Birds and people who didn't ply any games at all.EXPERIMENT 2They also took a group of non-gamers and placed them into 3 groups.The first group played Super Mario 64, a 3D game.The second group played Angry Birds, a 2D game.The third group didn't play any games at all.Those who practices 3D games for 30 minutes per day had improved performance on certain memory tasks.

A gamer's brain

A 2013 longitudinal study revealed that people who played strategic video games had better problem-solving skills which also correlated with improved grades in school. Gamers are better at allocating attention Dr. Daphne Beverly ran a functional MRI study into the mechanism that controls attentional allocation & this resulted in improved & efficient performance in people who play games.Neuro-simulations showed that people who played video games were better at collecting visual & auditory stimuli to be able to make decisions more effectively & efficiently.

Video games help improve our problem-solving ability

A study from the University of Montréal reveals this.They split up adults between the ages of 55 and 75 into 3 groups.Group 1 was trained on video games like Super Mario 64.Group 2 had piano lessons.Group 3 had nothing.The study found that an increase in brain matter within the hippocampus was significant only in the gaming group.

Video games can help reduce cognitive decline that happens naturally as we age

A study from New Zealand used a specially designed game called Sparks to help teenagers dealing with depression.They found that the remission rate was significantly higher in the Sparks arm, 43,7% than in the 'treatment as usual arm' 26,7.Translation Teenagers who played video games were significantly more likely to have their depression cured.CAVEATSPlaying video games excessively is probably bad for your social life.Like any other excessive habit, dooh!

Video games might be able to help conditions like anxiety and depression

A 2017 UK study showed that a sample of 708 people who played Massively Multiplayer Online Games like World of Warcraft, found various psycho-social benefits like increased self-esteem and social competence.

Gaming can improve social life

Some ideas highlighting the fine line between the brain of a gamer vs. the one of a non-gamer. I have also created a video on this: Speed & Agility - The Key to Getting More Done https://youtu.be/OtpIdRNUMKM

Hey friends, on this episode of Journal Club we're going to be addressing how video games are good for us and the several benefits they bring. 🎮 Follow me on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/aliabdaal Studies referenced in the video: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4682779/ http://rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3679 https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/11/video-games https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235367249_More_Than_Just_Fun_and_Games_The_Longitudinal_Relationships_Between_Strategic_Video_Games_Self-Reported_Problem_Solving_Skills_and_Academic_Grades http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3342 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187779 https://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e2598 https://osf.io/h5m7k/ MY FREE ONLINE COURSES: 🚀 Productivity Masterclass - Principles and Tools to Boost Your Productivity - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/productivity 🎬 Video Editing with Final Cut Pro X - From Beginner to YouTuber - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/video-editing 🎓 How to Study for Exams - An Evidence-Based Masterclass - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/studying 😃 How to be Happier - Stoicism Masterclass - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/stoicism MY FAVOURITE GEAR: 🎥 My YouTube Camera Gear - https://kit.co/AliAbdaal ⌨️ My Keyboard - Wireless Coral mechanical keyboard (Cherry Blue) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/keyboard 📝 My favourite iPad Screen Protector - Paperlike - https://go.aliabdaal.com/paperlike MY FAVOURITE SOFTWARE: 📚 How I remember what I read (Readwise) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/readwise 🎵 Where I get my Music (amazing for YouTubers) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/epidemicsound 🌐 My website platform (Ghost) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/ghost 🎤 My podcast hosting platform (Transistor) - https://go.aliabdaal.com/transistor OTHER RECOMMENDED COURSES 📔 Effortless Output with Roam Research - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/roam 📓 Building a Second Brain - https://go.aliabdaal.com/course/basb 🎙My weekly podcast - https://www.youtube.com/c/notoverthinking My brother and I host a weekly podcast where we discuss happiness, creativity and the human condition. You can find it by searching “Not Overthinking” on any podcast app (eg: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts etc). BE MY FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to my weekly email newsletter - https://aliabdaal.com/newsletter/ 🌍 My website / blog - https://www.aliabdaal.com 📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/aliabdaal 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/aliabdaal 🎮 Twitch - https://twitch.tv/aliabdaal WHO AM I: I'm Ali, a junior doctor working in Cambridge, UK. I make videos about medicine, technology, productivity and lifestyle design. I also have a weekly podcast with my brother (https://www.youtube.com/c/notoverthinking), and I write a weekly email newsletter that contains some quick thoughts + links to interesting things (https://aliabdaal.com/newsletter/). 🌍 My website / blog - https://www.aliabdaal.com GET IN TOUCH: If you’d like to talk, I’d love to hear from you. Tweeting @AliAbdaal directly will be the quickest way to get a response, but if your question is very long, feel free to email me at hi@aliabdaal.com. I try my best to reply to things but there sadly aren't enough hours in the day to respond to everyone 😭 PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a kickback from 😜

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law#:~:text=Sturgeon's%20law%20(or%20Sturgeon's%20revelation,science%20fiction%20author%20and%20critic.">Sturgeon’s law</a> is a philosophical aphorism that states that 90% of everything is crap. And, of course, you should take this with a grain of salt. “All things — cars, books, cheeses, hairstyles, people and pins are, to the expert and discerning eye, crud, except for the acceptable tithe which we each happen to like.”— From Theodore Sturgeon’s “On Hand: A Book”

Sturgeon’s law 

1. What is the oldest error-free book for X topic?2. What is the newest error-free book for X topic?3. Can I find the book online, for free?

Questions to ask yourself before going out to buy a new book

Assert someone’s credibility & respectability in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academia_(disambiguation)">The Academia</a> is to check their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index#:~:text=among%20different%20fields.-,Calculation,with%203%20or%20more%20citations.">H-index score</a>. This represents how many other scientists are citing their paper. a “successful scientist” will have an h-index of 20 after 20 years; an “outstanding scientist” will have an index of 40 after 20 years; and a “truly unique individual” will have an index of 60 after 20 years or 90 after 30 years.

One should read the full article for a detailed view.

Sturgeon’s law is a philosophical aphorism that states that 90% of everything is crap. And, of course, you should take this with a grain of salt. Sturgeon’s law can still be an interesting framework…

How to read higher quality books

If you had the option to move your consciousness from reality to a simulation that you knew was worse than reality, knowing that you probably later wouldn't opt out and return to reality, would you do so? If you had the option to copy your consciousness from reality to a simulation that you knew was worse than reality, knowing that you probably later wouldn't opt out and return to reality, would you do so?

Would you? 

Let me propose a thought experiment with three conditions. …

The Opt-Out Clause - LessWrong

<ol><li> Fundamental Attribution Error: We judge others on their personality or fundamental character, but we judge ourselves on the situation.</li><li>Self-Serving Bias: Our failures are situational, but our successes are our responsibility.</li><li>In-Group Favoritism: We favor people who are in our in-group as opposed to an out-group.</li><li>Bandwagon Effect: Ideas, fads, and beliefs grow as more people adopt them.</li><li>Groupthink: Due to a desire for conformity and harmony in the group, we make irrational decisions, often to minimize conflict.</li></ol>

5 Cognitive Biases to be Aware Of 

The human brain is extremely powerful, but it also has its limitations. Cognitive biases are frequently the result of your brain's attempt to make information processing as simple as possible. Biases are frequently used as "rules of thumb" to help you make sense of the world and make decisions in a relatively short period of time. Some of these biases are related to the memory process, for example. 

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Robert.xyz
@theroblanc

In 1911, a genius revealed a forgotten science of how to be 50x more productive without working…

Picking Up 1 Piece of Trash a Day

In 1911, a genius revealed a forgotten science of how to be 50x more productive without working…

Talent Rules in Both the NBA and the World Economy

How To Become a Specialized Generalist

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Robert.xyz @theroblanc

In 1911, a genius revealed a forgotten science of how to be 50x more productive without working…

Picking Up 1 Piece of Trash a Day

In 1911, a genius revealed a forgotten science of how to be 50x more productive without working…

Talent Rules in Both the NBA and the World Economy

How To Become a Specialized Generalist

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Robert.xyz
@theroblanc