To motivate ourselves, we must feel like we are in control.” The trick, researchers say, is realizing that a prerequisite to motivation is believing we have authority over our actions and surroundings. Scientists have found that people can get better at self-motivation if they practice the right way. “Motivation is more like a skill, akin to reading or writing, that can be learned and honed.“It’s not simply a product of spending longer hours at your desk or making bigger sacrifices.“ The way we choose to see ourselves and frame daily decisions the stories we tell ourselves, and the easy goals we ignore the sense of community we build among teammates the creative cultures we establish as leaders: These are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive.” “Productivity is about making certain choices in certain ways.It’s about getting things done without sacrificing everything we care about along the way.” It’s a process of learning how to succeed with less stress and struggle. “Productivity, put simply, is the name we give our attempts to figure out the best uses of our energy, intellect, and time as we try to seize the most meaningful rewards with the least wasted effort.

Anyone can become more creative, more focused, better at framing their goals and making wise decisions. “But in the end, if you learn how to recognize certain choices that, to many, might not be obvious, then you can become smarter, faster, and better over time.Sometimes a misstep is the most important footfall along the path to success.” In fact, as Disney learned, sometimes you have to foster tension to encourage creativity.

“Productivity doesn’t mean that every action is efficient.

“Productivity isn’t about working more or sweating harder. Here are my favourite take aways from reading, Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg: They view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different ways. Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics-as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals, FBI agents, airplane pilots, and Broadway songwriters-the book posits that the most productive people, companies, and organizations don’t merely act differently. At the core of Smarter Faster Better are eight key concepts-from motivation and goal setting to focus and decision making-that explain why some people and companies get so much done.

Smarter faster better key concepts