The best productivity boost in the world
Do you know the feeling when you're doing something and time just whizzes by. You feel disappointed when you have to leave it. You can’t wait to pick up where you left the day before and it feels like it is the only thing you can think about? Most of us describe this feeling as Love. You feel unstoppable, like you can conquer the world.
I am going to argue that Love is the best productivity boost. It doesn't matter whether you are using GTD, KanBan, the Pomodoro technique or just working, when you're motivation is love you'll get things done, you'll put your 100% into it and it won't even feel like work.
Think about it for a moment. In most circumstances people describe relationships as hard work. There is one exception, when you're madly in love and spend most of your time trying to make the other person happy. It comes naturally, you don't think about it. It just happens. You're not working towards it, you’re just living it.
The opposite is true when something is painful and you don’t like doing it. You can’t wait until it is over. You jump on the first distraction and look for any excuse not to do it.
So how do you do what you love? The first step is described very well by Paul Graham’s essay:
It's hard to find work you love; it must be, if so few do. So don't underestimate this task. And don't feel bad if you haven't succeeded yet. In fact, if you admit to yourself that you're discontented, you're a step ahead of most people, who are still in denial. If you're surrounded by colleagues who claim to enjoy work that you find contemptible, odds are they're lying to themselves. Not necessarily, but probably.
So be honest with yourself, forget about what others tell you, forget about what society tells you to do. Maybe your job isn’t it, but you have another passion that you can do after work or split with your current job part-time. Or maybe you’re lucky enough that your job is your passion. Experiment, try new things, explore your options and at the very least you’ll figure out the things that you don’t want to do. The worst feeling is regret for not doing something. So act now, and go find love!
What is your passion? What gets you going? Share with us in the comments below.