After 27 years, I finally beat productivity! (Simplest ADHD System)
Summary
TLDRAli Aluli, a systems engineer and post-doctoral fellow at NASA, shares his strategy for boosting productivity and managing ADHD. He simplifies the concept into increasing 'signal'—activities that align with goals—and decreasing 'noise'—distractions. Aluli encourages viewers to define their goals, identify signals and noise in their lives, and stay accountable by keeping a visual reminder of their objectives and the actions needed to achieve them. He also hints at a follow-up video that will delve into the execution system for these signals.
Takeaways
- 🚀 Ali Aluli is a systems engineer and a post-doctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- 🎯 The video aims to demonstrate a simple analogy for achieving high productivity and overcoming ADHD.
- 📊 Productivity is described as a balance between 'signal' and 'noise', where increasing signal and reducing noise is key.
- 🔬 Ali's analogy is derived from his PhD in electrical engineering, specifically satellite communication systems.
- ✍️ Viewers are encouraged to identify their personal 'signal' activities that help achieve goals and 'noise' that distracts from them.
- 🎯 Defining a clear goal is the first step to understanding what actions are 'signal' and what are 'noise'.
- 💡 Signal activities are those that directly contribute to achieving one's goals, while noise are distractions.
- 💼 Ali gives personal examples of signal activities like working on ads and optimizing systems for his business.
- 🛑 Noise examples include late-night Instagram scrolling, arguing on social media, and engaging with toxic individuals.
- 🔑 Understanding the 'why' behind one's goals can increase emotional connection and motivation.
- 📝 Writing down goals, signals, and noise can provide clarity and self-accountability.
- 📈 Having a visual reminder of the signal-to-noise concept can help maintain focus and productivity.
Q & A
Who is Ali Aluli and what is his professional background?
-Ali Aluli is a systems engineer and a post-doctoral fellow at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
What is the main topic of the video that Ali Aluli is discussing?
-The main topic of the video is about increasing productivity and managing ADHD by using the analogy of signal to noise.
What is the analogy Ali Aluli uses to explain productivity and ADHD?
-Ali Aluli uses the analogy of 'signal to noise' where signal represents actions that help achieve goals, and noise represents distractions from those goals.
What are the two variables Ali suggests focusing on to improve productivity and manage ADHD?
-The two variables are 'signal', which you want to increase, and 'noise', which you want to reduce.
How does Ali define 'signal' in the context of productivity?
-'Signal' is defined as activities or tasks that help you achieve your goals.
How does Ali define 'noise' in the context of productivity?
-'Noise' is defined as distractions or activities that prevent you from achieving your goals.
What is the first step Ali suggests to improve productivity according to the script?
-The first step Ali suggests is to define your goal clearly.
Can you provide an example of 'signal' from the script?
-An example of 'signal' from the script is working on paid ads, optimizing products, and meeting with teams to ensure client satisfaction and system improvement.
Can you provide an example of 'noise' from the script?
-An example of 'noise' from the script includes scrolling Instagram late at night, arguing with people on Facebook, and having too many tabs or notifications open.
What does Ali suggest doing with the understanding of 'signal' and 'noise'?
-Ali suggests making a list of what is 'signal' and 'noise' in your life and placing it somewhere visible for daily accountability.
How does Ali address the issue of memory and motivation in individuals with ADHD?
-Ali suggests having a visual reminder of goals and the distinction between 'signal' and 'noise' in a place where it is seen daily to combat memory issues and maintain motivation.
What additional resource does Ali mention for executing 'signal' effectively?
-Ali mentions a separate video he made about the right system for sitting down and executing 'signal' effectively.
Outlines
🚀 Boosting Productivity with Signal-to-Noise Analogy
In this video, Ali Aluli, a systems engineer and post-doctoral fellow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, introduces a simple yet powerful analogy to enhance productivity and manage ADHD. He emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between 'signal' and 'noise' in one's life. 'Signal' refers to activities that contribute to achieving one's goals, while 'noise' represents distractions that hinder progress. Ali encourages viewers to identify their personal goals and differentiate between what helps them move towards those goals and what detracts from them. He shares his own example of growing his business, 'Next Level Systems,' and illustrates how to focus on signal activities such as optimizing products and marketing strategies, while reducing noise like social media scrolling and engaging with toxic individuals. The analogy is drawn from his experience in satellite communication systems, where maintaining a strong signal is crucial to avoid being overwhelmed by noise.
🎯 Defining Goals and Prioritizing Actions for ADHD Management
Building upon the signal-to-noise analogy, Ali Aluli delves deeper into the process of defining one's goals and understanding the 'why' behind them. He suggests that a compelling and emotionally charged goal will naturally lead to better focus and productivity. Ali advises viewers to write down their goals and the reasons behind them, emphasizing the importance of self-accountability. He recommends visual reminders, such as printing out the goals and placing them where they are constantly visible, to counteract the forgetfulness and short-term focus often associated with ADHD. Ali also mentions the benefits of having a clear visual representation of signal and noise, like a graph, to serve as a daily reminder of the actions that contribute to or detract from productivity. He concludes by hinting at a follow-up video that will provide a system for executing these signal activities effectively, catering to those who understand what needs to be done but struggle with the execution.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Productivity
💡ADHD
💡Signal-to-Noise Ratio
💡Systems Engineering
💡Neurobiology
💡Goals
💡Signal
💡Noise
💡Satellite Communication Systems
💡Self-Accountability
💡Frameworks and Algorithms
Highlights
Ali Aluli, a systems engineer and post-doctoral fellow at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, discusses his approach to achieving high productivity and overcoming ADHD.
The video introduces a simple analogy of 'signal to noise' to explain productivity, emphasizing the importance of increasing signal and reducing noise.
Aluli shares his background in electrical engineering and satellite communication systems, relating it to the concept of signal and noise in productivity.
Productivity is simplified as a game of two variables, signal and noise, rather than a complex process requiring numerous tools or templates.
The audience is invited to participate in an exercise to identify signal and noise in their lives, starting with defining their goals.
Signal is defined as activities that help achieve goals, while noise is anything that distracts from those goals.
Aluli provides a personal example of his goal to grow his business, 'Next Level Systems', and identifies related signals and noise.
Examples of signal activities include working on paid ads, optimizing products, and meeting with teams to ensure client satisfaction and innovation.
Examples of noise include late-night Instagram scrolling, arguing on social media, and engaging with toxic people.
The importance of understanding why you want to achieve your goal is emphasized for emotional connection and motivation.
Aluli suggests writing down goals, signals, and noise, and placing them where they are visible daily for self-accountability.
For those with ADHD, having visual reminders is crucial due to potential struggles with memory and focus on long-term goals.
The video offers a visual graph as a tool to help viewers stay aware of productive and unproductive actions.
Aluli discusses the challenges of short-term focus and instant gratification tendencies in individuals with ADHD.
The video concludes with a teaser for another video by Aluli on systems for executing productive actions.
The analogy of signal to noise is presented as a universal method to improve productivity, regardless of the complexity of one's work.
Aluli's approach is based on personal experience and scientific understanding, offering a practical yet profound insight into productivity.
Transcripts
hey guys my name is Ali aluli I am a
systems engineer and a post-doctoral
fellow at the NASA jet propulsion lab
and in this video I want to show you how
I beat productivity and I beat ADHD and
I was able to finally achieve the final
level of productivity using a very
simple analogy and we're going to do
something really cool in this video
where I'm going to have you do an
exercise with me right now in the video
that once you see it the way I see it
you you'll never go back to the same way
and you'll be changed forever okay so
what I mean by um this this analogy over
here is is you can see over here there's
a graph that says signal to noise right
there's noise and their signal I've made
more videos that are like in-depth like
dopamine chemicals brain structure
neurology neurobiology Neuroscience all
that systems all that cool stuff um I do
have these videos that go diver uh
deeper uh into that stuff but I want to
make a very simple concept here very
very clear productivity and AD in
general like from the productive
perspective
is just a game of two variables signal
and noise you want to increase noise you
want to increase signal and you want to
reduce noise and I'll give you examples
of how I do that in my life and examples
of how you can do that in your life as
well and this is a concept I have
learned from doing my PhD in electrical
engineering with a focus on satellite
communication systems because very often
what we need to do is when two
satellites are talking to each other
from very very far distances we want to
make sure that the by the time the
signal reaches the other satellite uh
there's still uh it's still strong
enough where it does not get drowned out
by the noise of the other electronics
for ADHD or for productivity in general
is very simple again people make a
productivity to be very very complicated
you need all these million complicated
things that you need to do you need to I
Don't Know download notion templates and
I can't stand that notion templates if
you use them God bless I'm not judging
but you don't need it what you need is a
very simple understanding what's going
on here so what I'm going to go ahead
and do is have you with me right here if
you have a pen and paper or if you have
something uh to write with is we're
going to identify what is signal and
what is noise in your life right and
basically signal is things that you want
to do that help you achieve your goals
noise is things that are distracting you
from your goals that are that that
you're not trying to uh achieve and the
only way to achieve again Harmony is to
have a a strong gap between signal and
noise so we're going to go ahead and do
before we Define what is signal and what
is
noise uh you need to First Define your
goal right what is your goal so I'm
going to go ahead and give you a very
personal example so for example I have
my full-time at job I have my full-time
job at Nasa and then um and one of my
one of my companies that I'm running
Next Level systems uh we're trying to
help entrepreneurs uh be more productive
more useful to the world make better
decisions using systems using algorithms
using Frameworks I learned in
engineering um so let's say my goal
right now is to uh let's say grow my
business again it's kind of a very
simple uh goal let's say grow my grow
next level systems to 10 users per day
okay let's say that that's the goal that
I'm trying to optimize for right and
then it's I'm I'm it's going to be as
simple as what what is signal what are
the things I need to be doing right I to
like uh sit down and make paid ads work
obsessively on
product make systems more optimized
these are obviously things that I need
to do right like uh in order to to
increase likelihood because if I have a
great product then people are going to
be a lot more likely to buy it and if I
have a great uh if I have great Market
marketing and if I have great
advertising then people are a lot more
likely to find out that I have a product
in the first place that can help them
right uh so like uh signal uh meet with
Team to ensure um clients are happy and
system is improving meet with software
team to ensure we are innovating things
of that nature right this is signal
these are things I need to do right and
then noise is going to be something like
and I'm going to make this a bit smaller
just because I really want want it to be
like on a single page again this
exercise seems like very very simple but
it's very powerful noise is going to be
something like I don't know
scrolling Instagram late at
night um I don't know like something
like arguing with people on Facebook
having too many tabs open um having too
many notifications turned on toxic
people uh that's actually
something about ADHD is because like
people with ADHD especially higher up on
the ad spectrum because you're very
driven by curiosity and Intrigue and
because of your dopamine reuptake issues
unfortunately you can fall into uh
relationships or friendships or things
that nature with toxic people and you
have to kind of uh I don't know get
yourself aware to to avoid um these kind
of interactions but basically what you
go ahead and do is you figure out what
you're trying to do and and and if you
want to take it a level deeper you can
say why why do I want to do this well if
I do this then um like um I get to help
so many people live better Happy lives I
get to feel better by
myself knowing I'm helping people and
putting my knowledge to use and I get to
make some side income for example so I
can I don't know go do whatever I want
hire amazing people go travel the world
see all these these cool things uh
obviously the more compelling this is
the more emotional this is the more
likely your goal is going to make more
sense but I would strongly encourage you
just go ahead sit down write down what
is what what are you trying to do right
what is it really that you want to do
deep down why do you want to do it and
make a list of what is signal and what
is noise and if you want to be hardcore
print that print this page right here
you can go and you click print wherever
I don't know the print um over here and
put it somewhere in your face where you
see it every single day
because what that's going to do is going
to give you an extreme level of self-
accountability because now when you're
like scrolling Instagram late at night
or when you're arguing with people on
Facebook instead of I don't know sitting
down and running paid ads because that's
what you want to do because this is the
life you want to live that there's no
escaping that it's in your face right
especially if you're higher up on the ad
ADHD Spectrum you will tend to struggle
with memory and you're going to forget
what your goal is and you're going to
forget why you're doing it and because
again people who are ADHD are are kind
of more short-term focused instant
gratification focus a lot less likely to
be motivated by long-term goals having
the thing like straight up in your face
like is going to be very very helpful
because then at least like you can be
honest with yourself and say okay you
know what like this is what I'm doing
I'm doing too much noise and if you want
to be even more hardcore you can have
this graph over here this visual helps
me so much so what you can do is you can
basically in addition to having this
here um you can basically go
and um let's see we're going to insert
this guy here and have this picture or
like a picture similar to it and let's
again you can make this a little bit
smaller just so it all fits in one page
you can make you can make this one like
centered what not but the idea is like
having some type of reminder in your
face of like the actions that you can do
to be productive and the actions that
are not going to help you be productive
that alone is like 80 90% of the battle
again with distraction with things that
nature obviously this is not like that
and all be all cure but believe it or
not this is how I beat productivity it's
just by conscious reminding and
awareness of what I need to do now
here's the second part you need to
actually once you figure out what is
signal and how to eliminate noise you
need the right system for actually
sitting down and executing a signal
because you're telling me okay Ali I get
it I know I need to sit down and work on
my business I know I need to sit down
and write ads but I can't do them and
you are in luck because I made a video
about that should pop up somewhere over
here so go ahead and watch that peace l
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