Stress-free productivity does exist

Basically, you’ll hear or read two kinds of comments about boredom and productivity. The most common is that “boredom is a productivity killer.” Other, the less common, opposite and somewhat counter-intuitive, is that “boredom improves your productivity.”

We are all born curious. You just need to look at how children play, constantly ask questions and try everything that is unknown. However, at some point in our unfortunate education, this curiosity is somewhat appeased. A myriad of rules, norms and conventions appear that are slowly killing our curiosity. As Einstein said, “it is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education”.

Capturing is the first phase you need to carry out to take control of your world. In the GTD terminology (Getting Things Done) it is called also collecting and basically involves identifying what already has your attention—what is potentially relevant in your current reality.

In his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin talks a lot about the term “lizard brain” ¹ (also known as “reptilian brain”) to refer to the most primitive part of our brain, where the instincts that warn us of danger when it lurks reside. Actually, this lizard brain is a metaphor for the amygdala, the part of the limbic system which is responsible for processing our emotions.

Of all the activities you do, which one do you consider the most important? Solving problems? Fixing errors? Taking new projects?