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

by Ali Abdaal

Whenever there was a mistake on the production line, Toyota’s staff would ask ‘why’ five times.

season 5 episode 23 of the US version of The Office. It’s one of the most watched of all time because it depicts the everyday horrors of the modern workplace with hilarious accuracy:

The first step in turning your purpose into a plan involves some goal-setting. You might know what your ultimate ‘why’ is; but without a clear end-goal, you’ll struggle to work out how to get there.

Whether they’re ‘specific’ or ‘explicit’, your goals are supposed to be easily tracked and checked. Second, they’re very focused on outcomes: the function of words like ‘measurable’ and ‘observable’ is that you can tell, objectively, when you’ve reached the desired end-state.

I had spent years setting SMART goals. Suddenly I was being told that they weren’t as useful as everyone had assured me.

You might even want to use a SMART goal for your long-term objective, but a NICE goal for the here and now.

I call this the ‘crystal ball method’, though it’s sometimes also known as a ‘pre-mortem’. It offers a way to identify the big obstacles to your goal before they have derailed your plans.

‘No battle was ever won according to plan, but no battle was ever won without one.’

General Eisenhower

If you don’t know when you’re doing something, chances are you won’t do it.

If you want to turn your one-off act of eating fruit into a long-term behaviour change, create a trigger: ‘When I walk into the kitchen, I will eat an apple.’

truth is, structure gives you more freedom, not less. By carving out specific chunks of time for different activities, you’re ensuring that you have time for everything that’s important to you: work, hobbies, relaxation, relationships.

you might decide that every weekday from 6–7pm is dedicated to exercise, 7–8pm is family dinner time, and 8–9pm is for personal reading. Similarly, you might block out Monday and Tuesday mornings for deep work, Wednesday afternoon for team meetings, and Friday afternoon for personal development. The key is to create a balance that works for you – your ideal week reflecting your priorities, ambitions and personal circumstances.

Time blocking isn’t about creating a rigid schedule that stresses you out; it’s about providing structure and ensuring there’s dedicated time for what matters most to you. Once you have that, the fog of uncertainty will be that bit clearer.

The first emotional barrier is the simplest: uncertainty. The solution? To gain clarity about what you’re actually doing. That involves asking ‘why?’ and then using this to figure out your ‘how’.

Forget SMART goals. What you need are goals that feel NICE (near-term, input-based, controllable and energising).

Last, ask ‘when?’. If you don’t know when you’re going to do something, chances are you won’t do it.