Experiment Results - Own the Process
Here are the results of the first experiment I tried, “Owning The Process" (read into HERE). This experiment came from the book Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal (review HERE if you are interested). For this experiment, I decided to take control the process of 2 things that typically drain my energy during the day:
Doing laundry (specifically folding)
Getting up early (6am)
The goal was to increase the amount of energy I had while doing the thing. This in turn should then boost my mood too (hence feel good productivity).
I started recording my thoughts each day, but after day 2 I realized that even though there was a lot of variability in my days, I kept being surprised by these same 3 things. Also, the daily log was fun to write but boring to read back. So, you get the abridged version. The 3 things I kept coming back to were:
Consistency is key but perfect isn't necessary.
Small changes can provide big results.
Caffeine before bed is a bad idea.
Consistency
I picked a few things to pair with each task I was trying to enjoy more. For laundry, I planned to listen to music and drink pop, and for waking up early I planned to put my clothes out the night before, pack my gym bag and Kindle, and make something flavored to hydrate. I'm glad I picked multiple things, but not for the reason I thought.
Initially I picked these things because I figured one wouldn't be enough to change my mood about something I didn't like doing. This turned out to be wrong. Most of the time I would only do one of the things, and sometimes I only did part. One example of this is reading my Kindle. I planned to go read while jogging in the pool, but some mornings I just read a page or two on the couch, turned it off, and got ready for the day.
Consistency is important, and I did do something each time I folded laundry or got up early, but you don't have to do everything. Just do enough to feel good.
Small Changes Can Provide Big Results
I will reiterate, just do enough to feel good. If you want to add in more, great. If you don't, don't. I saw a significant boost in my energy levels from extremely small changes to how I did something.
Take the example of waking up early. Just knowing I set out something I enjoy gave me great joy. It didn't even matter if I did the thing. If I decided not to read, no big deal. I would say as a whole, any effort to leave myself a morning gift boosted both my energy and mood. I did hit one snafu after my first laundry session though…caffeine.
Caffeine Before Bed Is A Bad Idea
This one was an embarrassingly obvious fail. Folding laundry was the first thing I did after committing to this experiment, and one of my energy boosters was caffeine via a can of Coke. I slept so poorly that night that getting up early the next morning was an absolute battle. I think that setting out my incentives the night before made it happen, but it was fairly awful. Needless to say, I didn't drink anymore caffeine while doing laundry at night.
That whole caffeine experience brings me back to bullet 2 though. Just like how Ali says to try out the experiments in Feel Good Productivity, I recommend trying out a few different things when changing your process for a task. If listening to music at work isn't doing it for you, try making a cup of tea. If that doesn't work, try something else. This quote from the book really captures the essence of how to make this things successful:
“So, I urge you: try as much as you can, figure out what works, and discard the rest. Ask yourself of every new approach: what effect does this have on my mood? On my energy? On my productivity? Don’t rote-learn your way to feel-good productivity. Experiment your way.”
Conclusion:
I was pleasantly surprised at how affective this was for me, and I’m going to keep these small changes in my week moving forward. If you are struggling to feel good and have energy during the day, try implementing a few changes to the process of your tasks. This can be at work or in your personal life.
What's Next?
My next experiment is “Reduce Emotional Friction". This is facilitated by using something called “the 5 minute rule". The idea behind this is to commit to doing something for just 5 minutes and then decide if you want to keep going or stop. It seems straight forward, but in my intro post I will share a few important things to keep in mind so that you can take full advantage of this technique and not fall into the most common traps.
As always, thanks for reading. I hope you found something from this experiment interesting or insightful. If you have tried or plan to try any of these experiments shoot me a message. I would love to hear how it goes for you!
Also, consider subscribing! I don't have a newsletter yet, but would love enough subscribers to start making one with a weekly summary of what I am learning and working on.