Feel Good Productivity - Ali Abdaal
I found myself in a dramatically different position when I transitioned into a new role that demanded far more than I'd anticipated. Suddenly, I was managing people, juggling multiple projects simultaneously, and constantly switching between technical discussions and leadership responsibilities. The cognitive load was overwhelming. One day, the pressure reached a breaking point, and I erupted in frustration.
While I thought I was prepared for management and its inherent challenges, nothing had prepared me for the relentless deluge that followed. The sheer volume of competing priorities left me feeling like I was drowning.
Ironically, this crisis led me back to something I'd previously abandoned. I'd been following Ali Abdaal for years, but had grown tired of his YouTube content and stopped engaging with his work entirely. Yet in my moment of desperation, I found myself reaching for his book—perhaps hoping that written form might offer something his videos no longer could. Sometimes we need to encounter the right resource at precisely the right moment in our lives, even when we think we've closed the door on that entire category of help.
I made a commitment: for the next 100 days — the last 100 days of the year, this would be my only guide for work that I do in office and for business. I wanted to see what sustained focus on a single approach might accomplish, rather than jumping between different systems and philosophies.
What immediately drew me in was Ali's rejection of hustle culture—his assertion that it's "absolute BS." This resonated deeply because I'd learned the hard way that more effort doesn't automatically translate to better results. During my school years, the formula seemed straightforward: increased effort yielded higher scores. The correlation was clear and reliable. Engineering shattered that assumption. I found myself struggling precisely because I kept applying the same recipe that had worked before. The realization was both humbling and liberating—working harder wasn't the answer; working differently was.
The book's emphasis on energy as the foundation of productivity struck another chord. In my spiritual practice, I've long understood the importance of cultivating genuine energy through yoga and kriyas—practices designed to build vitality at the deepest levels, not just superficial motivation. This wasn't about forcing productivity through willpower, but about creating the energetic foundation that makes meaningful work sustainable.
Reading Ali's perspective felt like validation of a path I'd been unconsciously walking. I've been seeking ways to integrate my spiritual understanding with my professional life, believing that true fulfillment comes when these aspects of ourselves work in harmony rather than in conflict. This book seemed to offer a bridge between the inner work I value and the outer demands of career and relationships.
For the first time, a productivity framework wasn't asking me to abandon who I am—it was asking me to become more fully myself. I will write notes about this book in the coming posts.
I will write more about the book in the next post