That said, perhaps the alluring part was gathering data on one's self.
Then you can see how many days in the month were focused, how much were distracted and if you care about it enough, you could set a goal that 95% of the sessions in a month should be distraction-free and keep working towards that.
Another thing is that you may not have enough time to fit the things you want with your schedule - and you first need to optimize your things in your life. That may involve optimizing your productivity at work, to free up time or energy for your own things. That also will involve taking a look at what you do around and after work. All of us live at least partially on autopilot, so bad habits tend to sneak up and stay unnoticed. You need to shine a light every now and then to identify and eradicate them - and then that's more time and/or energy freed up for doing the things that matter to you.
Perhaps a less contentious way of saying "focus on productivity" is to say "making the wisest use of the 24 hours one has in a day".
The New Way* I divide my day in 3 sections. The first one, Morning Drill, from a set wakeup time (it really helps) until breakfast. I comprises things like regular morning routine, say exercise, freshening up, etc. It give me a good start into the day. I prefer not to do anything "productive/work-related" in the morning. Next, I take up my todo list for the day (i manage is using Todoist), understand my priorities and think of a general direction of the day, is it going to be a work-day or a fun-day?. I'm strict about my list, but not so much that I would not talk to anyone till i'm finished. I like to play it cool. The third section, i've finished all i had planned today, so i can do anything i want, read a book, go out with friends, and other cool stuff. This kind of summarises a day.
> All of us live at least partially on autopilot, so bad habits tend to sneak up and stay unnoticed. I love keeping notes, and reading old notes and revising your day, really helps for such a thing.
Results of new approach: When I go to bed, I sleep sound realizing the day wasn't a complete mess as opposed to drooling over "I've not been productive enough".
All in all, this was a wonderful article with beautiful insights and a magnificent approach of data science in daily life.
Conclusion: "The more you focus on productivity, the less you make it."
PS. I have been following *this approach for over 5 months now, and I've never been better.
Do your 3 sections have time limits? As in, the morning section is confined to 2/3 hours, the second section 8 hours and X hours for the 'freestyle' final section?
I recently watched a video[1] by a fellow called Lex Fridman, an AI researched, and a productivity power-house. A commenter on that video aptly pointed out that Lex comes from a lineage of hyper-productive and scholarly folks, and thus his rigid schedule of 10+ hours of productivity is not necessarily attainable for the rest of us mortals.
I think I have been trapped in a disillusion for a long time that:
A) I should aspire to perform 8+ solid focused hours of work per day, otherwise I am failing.
B) Most people achieve a solid 8+ solid focused hours of work per day.
In reality, due to some recent research and your initial comment in this thread, it has become clear to me that this is simply not the case. The reality is that it's much more of a 'different strokes for different stokes' scenario, and I think I'm gravitating towards the more 'structured unstructured' way of setting up my days, with less of a focus on expected output and more of freedom to enjoy the work and process without the paralyzing pressure of expectations.
I also think I'm nearing the 'final stages of productivity enlightenment', in which one realizes that the constant research and obsession with productivity (productivity porn?) is also a distraction, and that at some point you have to block it out and focus entirely on applying instead of finding the next kernel of truth.
On that note — back to work!
[1] "A day in my life | Lex Fridman" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m3hGZvD-0s
Speaking purely in terms of money: yes, doubling the productivity of those working for you is better than doubling your own productivity. But many of us don't have that option. If you are a normal employee, increasing your productivity is one of the few ways to increase your earnings.