Stuart Danker

You know what sounds cool at first glance? Productivity habits. You know how long they’re cool for? Probably two days or so.

For the past few years, I’ve adopted every hack from early wake-ups to meditation, all in the name of growth. And that has given me some fodder to discuss today’s topic.

Here’s a quick preview: It’s not about the what, but the why. Cliche, huh?

Anyway, after a long stretch of trial and error, I now present you with my thoughts on these popular hacks.

1. Waking up early

This is a popular one, isn’t it? I’m sure you’ve heard the miraculous claims: Wake up before sunrise and you’ll get more done. Don’t hit the snooze button and Zeus himself will bless you with his vigour.

Well, I gave it a go. I wasn’t exactly Murakami material, but I did wake up at 6 a.m. for more than a year, only missing one or two days due to COVID. You wanna know the benefits I gained?

Nothing.

Sure, there was the quality me-time, or being able to brag about waking up early. But it wasn’t as if I magically became a productivity fiend. In fact, operating on five to six hours of sleep only made me more greedy for slothful moments.

You know what I’ve learned though? It’s that what I do during my waking hours matters more than what time I wake up.

Devil’s advocate: It’s good to be sleep deprived from time to time, just to prove to yourself that you can. This will come in handy when you have to take care of a sick family member or a newborn.

2. Cold showers

Maybe you’ve seen Wim Hof in action, or maybe you’ve heard Joe Rogan’s praises for the cold plunge. Either way, you think that cold exposure will grant you the wisdom dating back to the ice age. Maybe it could even add 50 kilos to your bench press.

Sadly, simply turning off your heater when you bathe isn’t the magic bullet you think it is. How do I know? Because I’ve been doing exactly that for a few years now. Unless it’s actual cryotherapy, you’re not going to get the true benefits it’s been touted to provide.

Cold showers did teach me the ability to relax in discomfort though. It’s the same feeling as letting go during a rollercoaster drop, which helps me deal with other stressors.

But there are worse obstacles than being doused in cold water, and life will throw said obstacles your way. So if you don’t have a legit ‘why’ to cold showers, you could just be suffering for the heck of it.

Devil’s advocate: Cold showers have helped me during power cuts or early-morning swims. So it does make you a tiny bit more resilient to life. Also, not flinching when you first feel the cold carries over well into other areas of life.

3. Productivity systems

The typical hustlephile must be having a field day with all the productivity systems available today. Think Getting Things Done or Second Brain.

Thing is, you have to spend time learning these systems before you can apply them to your life. Case in point: look up ‘Zettelkasten’ and tell me you’ll be able to set up your system today.

That doesn’t stop me hopping from one system to another, however. If there’s anything I suffer from, it’s the Shiny New Thing syndrome. So you can bet your ass I’m going to try every method that promises to rein in the chaos that is my brain.

Unfortunately, the only thing I’ve learned so far is that I’m all chaos when it comes to organising. But I’ll take it. Because it’s allowed me to accept said chaos.

Devil’s advocate: Finding a system that suits you will feel like a match made in heaven. They can really augment your brain’s capabilities, provided you use them properly.

4. Bullet journalling

Since we’re on the topic of organisation, let’s talk about the journalling method that went big in 2013. Even as a long-form journal keeper, I was enticed by the promise of increased productivity, using nothing but circles and dots.

So I kept a bullet journal for about six months. That’s when I realised that I had very little use for the bullet format, since I preferred exploring prose.

Plus, my life wasn’t exciting enough to be logged in bullet form. There’s only so much ‘exercise, took the dog for a walk, wrote’ I could write. But I could go on end about how my dog made friends with the corgi in the park.

Also, being the tweak-head I am, I’m prone to fine-tuning my spreads instead of actually using them.

It may work for some, but simply changing the way you journal isn’t going to improve your productivity.

Devil’s advocate: Bullet journalling works great for analytical minds who enjoy tracking data. It soothes the creative soul too, as some people find the art-ifying cathartic.

5. Writing longhand

This isn’t so much a productivity hack as it is a writing tip. I’m sure you’ve heard how longhand is the magical doorway to your highest self. And that the key to beautiful prose is breaking out your notepad instead of firing up Notepad.

I think that’s phooey.

I say that as a huge proponent of longhand. After all, I wrote my first novel entirely longhand, I think on paper all the time, and I’m a huge fan of morning pages. But I don’t think writing longhand is the miracle cure to a better memory or writing prowess.

There are times where it makes sense to write on paper, such as when doing copywork or when you need to keep things fresh. But I believe both mediums should be used in tandem with each other, and not exclusively.

So no, if you’re not already writing as a habit, buying that new fountain pen isn’t going to help much.

Devil’s advocate: You think differently when writing longhand, not better. So it’s a great way to explore ideas from a different perspective. It’s also a great medium for when you want to rest your eyes.

It’s all relative

Checking your e-mail just twice a day may work as a writer, but it doesn’t make sense if you’re in the service industry.

Similarly, running 10 kilometres every day may suit the endurance athlete, but not the powerlifter.

As I learn more about productivity, I realise that the best advice always starts with ‘It depends’. Because we all have micro factors in our lives that may or may not render a ‘hack’ useless. Only a fool would relay cookie-cutter advice and expect it to work for everyone.

Having said that, I hope that you still give these productivity hacks a go and see what they do for you. Because the best way to find out isn’t to read an article by a random Malaysian, but to go ahead and try.

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