Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You

by Ali Abdaal

All these people have noticed an intriguing feature of human motivation: that starting something alone is infinitely more difficult than starting it together. When we find a partner to hold us accountable, we’re much more likely to overcome inertia.

burnout isn’t just a thing that happens to overworked people in stressful jobs. It can happen to anyone when work stops feeling meaningful, enjoyable or manageable. When you’re burned out, you feel overwhelmed and undermotivated. You feel like you can’t keep up the pace, no matter how hard you try.

burnout is an ‘occupational phenomenon’, characterised by ‘feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy’. And crucially, it isn’t related to the number of hours you’re working – it’s about how you feel.

there are the burnouts that come about from simply taking on too much work. Your mood is suffering because you’re packing too much into each day. I call these overexertion burnouts.

Your mood is suffering because you haven’t given yourself the deeper periods of time off that you need – not just little breaks throughout the day, but the longer breaks that recharge the energy of your mind, body, and spirit. I call these depletion burnouts.

Your mood is suffering because of the weeks, years or decades when you’ve put all your efforts into something that doesn’t bring you joy or meaning, and it has worn you down. You’ve been using your energy in the wrong way. I call these misalignment burnouts.

we’re suffering from a simple problem – overcommitment. It is the first way we set ourselves on the path to overexertion: we say yes to things in the present, but in the long term, they’re going to grind us down.

‘I skipped a day of my language learning app streak, so I might as well give up on learning the language altogether.’ Failing with abandon is a common reason we waste vast amounts of energy. The key thing is getting back on course.

As we’ve seen, it’s not possible to completely eradicate distraction. So you need to give yourself permission to be distracted. Think of distraction as a temporary veering off-track – not an indication that it’s time to abandon your plans altogether.

There’s a joy to some distractions. Think of them as short, sharp invitations to pause – like Nhat Hanh’s awakening bell. Life isn’t about maintaining focus all the time. It’s about allowing space for little moments of serendipity and joy.

the two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is where you’re doing something because it feels inherently enjoyable. Extrinsic motivation is where you’re doing something because of an external reward – like making money, or winning a prize.

Misalignment burnout arises from the negative feelings that arise when our goals don’t match up to our sense of self. We feel worse – and so achieve less – because we’re not acting authentically. In these moments, our behaviour is driven by external forces – rather than by a deeper alignment between who we are and what we’re doing.

Or imagine a college student who chose a degree based on external expectations, like pressure from family, rather than his own genuine interests. He might find himself struggling to feel engaged in classes and worrying that he’s not on the right path for his future career. In this case, an alignment experiment might involve examining alternative educational pathways.

And as you go, remember that this process isn’t about striving for perfection. It’s about strategically stumbling your way to what works. Learning from your failures and celebrating your successes. Transforming your work from a drain on your resources to a source of energy.