I’m pumped on this post because its the first of its kind. My Heat Mapping Life Experiment was the first one that I recorded about on a daily basis, and with two full weeks on constant immersion in analyzing my own state and degree of productivity, I found out some interesting things about my experience that I’m sure anyone can draw from.

Some of it might be relatively specific to my experience, but I think a that plenty of the lessons of this experiment can be applied to anyone’s life and motivation.

“Efficacious State” (Ideas on Social State and Productive State) - 

Something I noticed very early is that my “productive” flow state happened to also transmit into a flow experience in any other activity I was involved in. In other words, when I was feeling super-involved and excited writing an article, I’d also feel super-involved and excited if I started cleaning my room, driving to the store, or 

Telltales of “Efficacious State” / Flow - 

When I am in flow: 

• My action and awareness merge, I am completely “outside my head”
• In being “outside my head” I am not questioning wether or not my current action is the best present action
• I am also not questioning the objectives I am striving towards
• If I think of the future at all, it is only in the form of optimistic glory

When I am in stress:

• I am not able to remain present and focused on activity, I am drawn “inside my head”
• Being “inside my head” entails questioning my present action 
• It also entails potentially questioning my higher goals or motives
• If I think of the future at all, it is uncertain

Elements in Attaining the “Efficacious State” - 

Completion: 

Some of my experiences that “felt” most productive involved completion of a specific objective, or at least attaining a notable benchmark in a project. 

This, of course, was in my head. Any “tangible” steps taken or projects accomplished were just marks I set in my own mind, and part of my brain gave me access to happiness after reaching these designated ends.

Regardless, having “ends” of this kind certainly serves us in terms of having identifiable next actions on our higher objectives. In addition, these little benchmarks serve as micro-accomplishments that can compel us to future action and allow us to recognize that progress towards our higher objectives is being made (because… it is being made!).

It might also be a limiting factor, however, to require these benchmarks to be hit in order to feel efficacious and resourceful. Here we restrict ourselves to a degree. 

My best advice in this regard would be to frame these benchmarks as concrete rungs on a ladder, rungs that we reach for enthusiastically (instead of needing them for our positive emotional state).

Balancing:

In my project, I found that many of my most “stressed” times were times when I was hammering away on tasks with no contact to other people for hours and hours. Its not as though I ever went a day without seeing friends or family, but extended periods of lone typing tended to bring about a yearning for human contact, and a yearning to exercise and move.

This may have to do with the fact that I’m very much used to being active physically and socially, and that when the balance tipped away from those aspects of my life a tension was created.

I think it likely also has to do with a relatively innate need for human contact and physical activity – and the fact that such activities tend to relieve us of stresses and fulfill important desires that we have as humans (to be loved, to enjoy time with others, to be physically active).

My Experience of Level 4 (Red Zone) “Productivity” -

Throughout my experiment, I only hit this red zone for a few hours. I’ve been there before and since, however, and I now have a better idea of the telltale signs of this super-charged experience of efficacy, joy, and power:

- It involves a welling up of excitement, an expressive tension that builds up and must be released. Its almost jittery. I found myself having to move around or yell something out (“WOOO!”).

- My body is totally engrossed in the present activity, and very little thought is noticed through the experience.

- If thoughts do occur, they are immensely positive and encouraging, and usually have to do with the awesome future possibilities and how I can reach those possibilities through the present. For instance, I might be thinking about a book I plan on writing and how fantastic it will be to get some of my best research and ideas on paper. I might even imagine what it would make possible in my life if my book was a huge success.

- It is interesting to note that this level of excitement and fun is something I occasionally experience but I do not refer to it as “level 4 productive.” Why is this the case? Because sometimes this excitement isn’t productive, or I don’t frame it to be productive in my mind. The times I refer to as “level 4 productive” have not only been a massive expression of positive emotion, but they have been related to attaining goals and actually doing activity that I deem to be best in attaining those objectives. Hence, many of my highest expreinces of excitement have not been “level 4 productive.”

This might explain why level 4 is not the same as normal “flow” state (“flow” is an immersed, intense, heightened state where out mind is drawn into the present moment and we loose ourselves). I mean this in the way that level 4 must generally have relation to some higher project or objective, and so it sometimes will involve more thought that traditional “flow” state, because my mind usually has to tie the action to my values and my future objectives.

“Happiness” and “Productivity” - 

The relation of happiness and productivity has to do with one’s definition of “productivity.”

Making statements like “you need to be productive to be happy” or “if you’re too productive you’ll never find happiness” would be silliness. They are too vague to be understood and apply.

For me personally, productivity involves progress towards my highest ends – which not only involves diving into and finishing writing projects, reading psychology, and promoting my Jiu Jitsu academy, but also involves sharing fun experiences with friends and experiencing joy, excitement and enthusiasm. 

Hence, happiness and productivity are relatively well-linked in my own mind. I recognize happiness not only as a fantastic end in and of itself (something I value, something that fits my purpose) but also as a propelling force for my own vitality and energy to accomplish meaningful tasks that relate to my greatest pursuit of contribution int he field of personal development  (something I value, something that fits my purpose).

However, this isn’t to say I’ve ever bitten off more than I can chew in terms of projects, or that I haven’t ever felt “stress.” Certainly its not common, but it has happened. This “stress” wasn’t because I was “too productive.” In fact, stress works against productivity for the most part (in my book). It was simply due to framing things incorrectly in my mind and creating a mental frame of “have to” rather than “strive for.”

We can make “productivity” the antithesis of “happiness” if we want. We can make it imply a frantic or cold pursuit of objectives without meaning. However, we would have no one to blame for this but ourselves. Happiness – as I see it – aught to usually be included into the algorithm for “productivity.” It is the end for which productivity strives in most cases. 

Might it be useful to not focus at all on present happiness and just “get things done”? It would seem as though the action we deem best in terms of our overall life objectives and purpose will sometimes be focused less on momentary positive emotional states than other times. Regardless, completely devorcing enjoyment from any activity might be reckless for our psyche. I believe that having an awareness of how we mentally frame our work and other actions )and knowing how to change our focus or mind set) is an ability that serves us immensely.

Even in crunch time on a massive assignment or in a panicked situation, we aught to keep the reins to our enjoyment at hand and if nothing else control the detrimental emotions that tend to floor our minds when we focus on “detrimental” events (IE: when we frame events or situations as “difficult” or “bad” or “painful” or “stressful” in our minds).

Tips for Sleeping Less:

Though you can certainly read about some of this stuff in my “Sleep Less” Life Experiment, I did pick up on (and refine) some tricks for sleeping less:

- Have at least one COMPELLING activity to do early in the morning. This will get you out of bed when the alarm rings. I like to make it something that will take a little while (not a 3 minute project), because you’ll be less likely to put it off of a few more minutes. I like to set a goal like “get as far into writing my ebook on Sport Psychology as possible!” This is compelling because its a challenge to see how much I can get done, and its a project I’m excited to work on.

- Be wary of too much sugars or processed carbs. This will take you to a bit of a blood-sugar spike, but then you’ll drop right off and crash. Try not to load up on sugars at any point in your day, if anything taper them in with other foods so you can be more productive… AND have less cavities.

- When working through lack of sleep, sit upright, have proper lighting (preferably sunlight), and sit somewhere that you don’t associate to sleep. As I mentioned in my previous articles, I often sit in my kitchen or dining room, where the light is more intense, the chairs aren’t for lounging, and my mind doesn’t associate with “zzzzzzz.”

-Often we believe ourselves to be more tired than we are. I always thought I needed 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night to function well. I then read somewhere of a man who slept about 5 hours per night. I thought this was brilliant and I took up the idea – and it turned out FINE. Not to mention all the times I thought “oh man, I’m so tired, I must go to sleep,” then I went out to a club, or went into a room with sunlight and a wooden chair, or took a jog – and felt FINE. Believe in yourself on this one, trust me, you’re so much more capable of sleeping less.

You might not want to sleep 5 hours a night like I am right now, but regardless, you will be able to apply these ideas when you DO need to stay up, or you want to keep yourself up longer.

 

I want to thank Charlie of www.productiveflourishing.com for the brilliant idea of heat mapping productivity. 

This one of many deeply involved projects that I’ll be diving into, learning from, and recording on here.

 

 

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