Warongdech/Shutterstock.com

The Biggest Productivity Myth is that Rigid Rules are for Everyone

We all have different brains, so embrace your own unique productivity style.

The internet is filled with advice and lifehacks on how to improve productivity. We all want to achieve more, it seems, to cram more into our days. There always seems to be that one overachieving colleague who has it all figured out, and uses a complex routine involving butter-filled coffee, short bursts of jumping jacks, and weekly fasting to help him achieve maximum productivity. Perhaps we should mimic his schedule?

But there’s little point trying to apply some strict productivity “rules” to your own working habits. Though methods such as the Pomodoro technique, which advises working in 25 minutes bursts with short breaks in between, are popular, scientific research shows there’s no set work schedule that works for everyone.

Daniel Levitin, professor of behavioral neuroscience at McGill University, says that we all have different “neural styles,” as determined by our genetics, experience, how our brains develop, daily neurochemical balance, and caffeine and alcohol intake.

Meanwhile Gloria Mark, professor in the department of informatics at the University of California, Irvin, points out that her research shows personality traits affect ability to focus. “People who score high on Neuroticism and Impulsivity, and who are more susceptible to stress, have significantly shorter attention duration when working on the computer,” she writes in an email. “I interpret the Neuroticism finding to mean that when people are neurotic, they replay thoughts and events over and over in their minds. This interferes with their ability to focus. When people also have a trait of impulsivity, then it’s harder for them to stop the urge to be distracted (e.g. to check Facebook), compared to other people.”

Trying to embark with an ideal productivity plan can be a bit like going on a strict diet, where the rules are simply too impractical to have a lasting effect on lifestyle. Instead, both Mark and Levitin say that small, meaningful changes are best, and that the general principle of working interspersed with breaks is a good guide. It’s simply that the ideal length of time to work before breaking will vary from person to person.

Levitin advises against the ‘anything goes’ approach and says everyone should experiment to find their own ideal productivity system.

“If you’re trying to set up a system I wouldn’t say work until you’re tired and then take a break, and then work when you feel like it again,” he says. “The body has a number of cycles, circadian rhythms, and you want to train your body to take maximum advantage of those.”

Trial and error is the best way to find your rhythm. Levitin says to spend a week working for 90 minutes, followed by a 15-minute breaks, with an hour off at lunch. If by the end of the week, your attention is still flagging at the end of the 90 minutes, then reduce your work period by 10 minutes. If you think you can go longer, then add 10 minutes.

In a perfectly productive world, we’d all cut out caffeine, sugar, and Facebook, which lead to weaker attention spans. But Levitin says not to worry about such things when first embarking on a productivity program.

“If you try to do all those things at once, you don’t know what’s causing the improvement if you see any improvement,” he says. “I’d introduce these things gradually so as not to cause too abrupt a change.”

Ultimately, there will always be some people who can work for hours on end without flagging, while others need much longer breaks. But no amount of clean eating or strict routines will allow everyone to work the same way. We all have different brains, so embrace your own unique productivity style.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.