A sustainable way to learn anything
Written by Michelle Ong
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Productivity advice is everywhere. New tools, new routines, new frameworks. Each promising to make work easier and life more efficient.
Before adopting another one, it’s worth asking this:
Do we actually need productivity hacks to do meaningful work?
Sometimes we do. Structure helps. Reminders reduce friction. Systems can support follow-through.
But often, we’re already capable of focus when the situation truly demands it. Pressure has a way of sharpening attention.
The challenge isn’t productivity itself, it’s how we try to manufacture it constantly.
And that’s where things begin to slip.
Key points at a glance
When advice becomes overload
There’s a common assumption that more knowledge leads to better productivity.
In practice, the opposite often happens.
Too much advice fragments attention. Instead of working, we compare systems. Instead of starting, we optimize. Good ideas applied without context create stress rather than clarity.
Sometimes the most productive decision is to stop consuming advice and return to the work itself.
Not all hacks are meant to fit
Some productivity tools integrate smoothly into your life. Others demand that your life reorganize itself around them.
A simple test:
- If a system requires constant maintenance, it’s probably not sustainable.
- If a hack only works when conditions are perfect, it won’t survive real life.
- If using it makes you feel behind rather than supported, it’s misaligned.
Hacks might help in the short term but habits and systems matter in the long term.
Consistency outlasts cleverness.
When productivity turns toxic
Productivity becomes unhealthy when it starts to shrink your life instead of supporting it.
This shows up when:
- you chase unrealistic metrics
- slowing down triggers guilt
- output matters more than quality
- every moment is measured
- illness or exhaustion are ignored
At that point, productivity isn’t serving work, it’s enforcing control.
A system that leaves you anxious, depleted, or constantly behind isn’t efficient. It’s extractive.
The trap of over-optimization
There’s a point where optimization stops being helpful and becomes avoidance.
Perfect routines, color-coded trackers, endlessly refined to-do lists, often these are ways to feel productive without confronting the work itself.
Over-optimizing is usually driven by fear: fear of failing, choosing wrongly, or wasting effort.
But no system can remove uncertainty from meaningful work.
Productivity is a tool. It shouldn’t become an identity.
Returning to first principles
Sustainable productivity is less about hacks and more about alignment.
What matters? What deserves attention now? What pace can you realistically maintain?
Progress doesn’t require constant intensity. It requires direction, restraint, and systems that reduce friction without demanding perfection.
Doing less, deliberately, often creates more space for what actually matters.
A more sustainable definition of productivity
There is no perfect system.
Some days flow. Others don’t. That’s part of working as a human, not a machine.
Helpful productivity looks like:
- simple systems
- clear priorities
- realistic deadlines
- space for rest
- a few tools that genuinely support your way of working
Hacks can smooth the path but they can’t walk it for you.
Use what fits you
The real skill isn’t collecting productivity hacks. It’s knowing what fits your life, what drains you, and when to stop optimizing and start trusting your judgment.
Progress isn’t about speed. It’s about sustainability.
Taking longer doesn’t mean you’re slacking. Being slower doesn’t mean you’re failing.
Find a rhythm that supports your work and your life without asking you to perform constantly.
Reader reflection
Which productivity habit or system currently adds pressure instead of clarity and what might change if you let it go?