• 10 Nov, 2025 *

I remember when I first heard about ‘productivity’ from a popular YouTuber, Ali Abdaal. I was immediately hooked to his content, and I started following his advice to improve my ‘productivity’. It was exciting to see that I could be as successful as Ali was, even though our definitions of success were very different. However, I struggled with it because the results were not as promising as he claimed.

Fast forward, after trying several other productivity gurus, I became neither as productive nor as successful as Ali was. On the contrary, my mental health deteriorated due to induced self-blame for being less productive. Thank you, Ali.

Then one day I heard about a book The Burnout Society by a philosopher Byung-Chul Han from one and only Einzelganger. Han claimed a very interesting transition of society from work-driven to self-driven. In the former case, people were working because they needed to and not because they were only passionate about it. It does not mean that they were not working hard, but they need an external force (or reason) to work. Han referred them as disciplinary society.

In late capitalist times, society became prosperous. The need to work is replaced by moral imperative, passion, and self-worth. From here started what Han referred to as an achievement society. This society romanticizes work and often talks about passionate work. I believe most of us have heard a common saying “You should do what you are passionate about”. This attitude leads to burnouts, depression, and anxiety among people. You can read more from his book.

Han gave me a mature view of work. I learnt that I can be passionate about the work, but I should do what is necessary without going crazy about it.

Now, the reason I am talking about it today is a recent trend of note-taking. Seems like it is stirring the emotions of unproductive people again. Youtubers, due to their altruistic nature, could not stop sharing about new methods to increase—yes, you guessed it right—productivity. Every day, there are new videos, decoding productivity psychology, coining fancy terms, and introducing novel methods to help you out.

One particular method is Zettelkasten, which is known to be a very effective knowledge management technique. It is tested by many popular guys, including Ryan Holiday. The key motivation in this technique is to keep a note of what you consume. For example, if you highlight something in a book, you can save it as a note; if you watch a YouTube video, you can keep a note of it; if you like a tweet, you can make a note of it. With time, the number of notes grows, and you can arrange them in categories. In this way, you can build a knowledge map and find recurring themes in your thoughts.

This sounds so exciting, right!!! But why on earth does someone want to keep notes on everything? Unless it’s your job requirement, I dont see a reason to stop enjoying things and start note-taking. My job demands intense intellectual work, so I do it all the time. However, I can tell that it’s very tiring and that it takes a toll on your mind.

To conclude, all I can say is that beware of the productivity cult. There is no end to productivity. The YouTube tricks are very appealing on the surface because they are made appealing intentionally. However, it’s unclear whether they will be useful. The only certain thing is that you will feel frustrated in the end.

Instead of looking for productivity, you should look for satisfaction. Do not go crazy for work, but do only what is necessary. Remember, life is limited, and you pay for work with your living time. Yes, you get money in return, but it can not bring back your time or health. Enjoy your time as much as you can.

#book-post #life #mental-health #philosophy