Productivity Hacks Every Software Engineer Forgets…

Summary

The video script discusses the fallacy of equating long hours with productivity, highlighting how focusing on annual salary can lead to decreased hourly value. It emphasizes the importance of valuing time over money, suggesting strategies like time blocking and prioritizing well-being over workaholism. The script advocates for doing less, but more effectively, to achieve a better work-life balance and true happiness.

Takeaways

• 🕒 **Time Valuation**: Rethink how you value time by considering your hourly wage instead of annual salary to better understand your workload and income.
• 📉 **Workload vs. Salary**: Be aware that increased workload doesn't always equate to higher hourly pay; sometimes, it can lead to a demotion in effective hourly wage.
• 📚 **Inspiration from 'The 4-Hour Workweek'**: Tim Ferriss' book suggests that annual salaries can cap potential income while demanding limitless time.
• 🔢 **Hourly Wage Analysis**: Calculate your true hourly wage by dividing your annual salary by the number of weeks worked and the median hours per week.
• 🚫 **Stop Multitasking**: Focus on one task at a time to increase productivity and quality of work, rather than spreading yourself thin.
• 📅 **Time Blocking**: Use time blocking to dedicate specific time slots for tasks, ensuring focus and reducing distractions.
• 🔗 **Productivity Tools**: Utilize productivity tools like ClickUp to manage tasks, calendars, and reminders, which can help compartmentalize work and improve focus.
• 🎯 **Prioritize One Thing**: By focusing on one thing at a time, you can achieve extraordinary success as suggested by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.
• 🏋️‍♂️ **Balance Work and Leisure**: Time box not only work activities but also leisure to maintain a healthy balance and prevent burnout.
• 💡 **Small Changes**: Implement small, daily changes to improve productivity and well-being, rather than seeking drastic overnight shifts.
• 🌱 **Reevaluate Priorities**: Continuously reassess your priorities and consider if there are activities you can reduce or eliminate to improve your quality of life.

Q & A

What is the main issue the speaker addresses in the script?

The speaker addresses the issue of people working long hours without necessarily achieving a better hourly wage compared to their workload, and how to rethink their approach to work to improve productivity and value their time.

What is the significance of looking at hourly income instead of annual income?

Looking at hourly income helps to reveal the true value of one's time and work, as it can show if the increase in annual salary is proportional to the increase in workload, which might not always be the case.

Who is Tim Ferris and what is his claim about annual salaries?

Tim Ferris is the author of 'The 4-Hour Workweek'. He claims that annual salaries cap potential income while demanding limitless time, leading to a situation where people might end up earning less per hour despite higher annual incomes.

What is the median hourly wage for software developers according to the script?

The median hourly wage for software developers, based on the script, is calculated to be approximately $56 per hour.

How does the script suggest that multitasking can affect productivity?

The script suggests that multitasking can decrease productivity by spreading oneself too thin and reducing the quality of each task, as opposed to focusing on one thing at a time.

What is 'time blocking' and how is it used to improve productivity?

Time blocking is a method of setting aside specific blocks of time dedicated exclusively to working on one task. It helps protect time from interruptions and distractions, ensuring that important work gets done efficiently.

What is ClickUp and how does it help with time management?

ClickUp is described as an ultimate productivity tool that can replace other productivity and reminder apps. It helps with time management by allowing users to create folders for projects, collaborate, set reminders, track time, manage calendars, and use productivity tools and templates.

What is the significance of the ancient Chinese archer story mentioned in the script?

The story of the ancient Chinese archer illustrates the importance of not overworking or overstretching oneself without rest, as it can lead to burnout and loss of effectiveness.

How does the script suggest that the concept of 'being rich' has evolved?

The script suggests that the concept of 'being rich' has evolved from merely accumulating wealth to prioritizing well-being and maintaining strong relationships throughout life for increased happiness and fulfillment.

What is the main takeaway from the script regarding work-life balance?

The main takeaway is that it's important to not overburden oneself with too many tasks and obligations, and to focus on what truly matters for personal happiness and well-being, rather than striving for perfection in everything.

What advice does the speaker give for those who feel constantly overwhelmed?

The speaker advises making a 1% step in the right direction every day to gradually improve one's situation, rather than settling for constant overwhelm just for the sake of productivity.

Outlines

00:00

💼 The Illusion of Annual Salary

The speaker discusses the misconception of annual salary versus hourly wage, emphasizing the importance of valuing time. They recount their own experience of working excessively long hours as a software engineer, YouTuber, and property manager, which led to a realization about productivity. The concept of demotion in real income despite raises is introduced, using the example of an investment banker's hourly wage compared to a fast-food worker. The speaker recommends Tim Ferris' book 'The 4-Hour Workweek' and shares statistics from the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics to illustrate the disparity between perceived high salaries and actual hourly rates. The narrative concludes with a call to action to rethink work habits and to stop multitasking, suggesting that focusing on one task at a time can lead to better productivity.

05:01

📅 Time Blocking for Enhanced Productivity

The speaker advocates for time blocking as a method to enhance productivity. They share their personal use of the ClickUp app to manage their calendar and工作任务, which has helped them to focus on one task at a time. The app's features, such as categorizing tasks and setting reminders, are highlighted as beneficial for organizing and prioritizing work. The speaker also stresses the importance of time boxing leisure activities to prevent work from overwhelming one's life. They draw a parallel between the app's utility and the ancient Chinese parable of an archer whose constant practice led to the snapping of his bow, illustrating the need for balance. The narrative shifts to discuss societal pressures to achieve and do more, suggesting that doing less and focusing on what truly matters can lead to a more fulfilling life. The speaker concludes with a reflection on their own journey towards better time management and the ongoing process of learning and adapting.

Keywords

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency with which an individual or organization achieves its objectives. In the context of the video, productivity is a central theme as the speaker discusses how to achieve more without working excessively long hours. The video emphasizes the importance of reevaluating how one's time is spent and suggests that focusing on one task at a time can lead to greater productivity, as opposed to multitasking.

💡Annual Salary

Annual salary is the total amount of money an employee earns in a year. The video script challenges the traditional focus on annual salary, suggesting that it can be misleading because it doesn't account for the number of hours worked. The speaker argues for considering one's hourly wage instead, which can provide a more accurate picture of the value of one's time.

💡Hourly Income

Hourly income is the amount of money earned per hour of work. The video encourages viewers to calculate their hourly income to better understand the true value of their time. It contrasts this with annual salary, using examples from various professions to show that high annual salaries may not equate to high hourly wages due to longer working hours.

💡Time Blocking

Time blocking is a time management technique where you schedule specific blocks of time for different activities. The video suggests time blocking as a way to increase productivity by dedicating uninterrupted periods to focus on one task at a time. The speaker uses ClickUp, a productivity tool, to manage their calendar and time block their activities, which helps them to be more efficient.

💡Multitasking

Multitasking is the act of attempting to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. The video argues against multitasking, citing the idea from the book 'The One Thing' that focusing on one task at a time can lead to extraordinary success. The script suggests that multitasking can decrease the quality of work and lead to feeling overwhelmed.

💡ClickUp

ClickUp is a productivity tool mentioned in the video that helps manage tasks and time. It is used by the speaker to organize their calendar and tasks, allowing them to focus on one task at a time. The tool is highlighted as a way to compartmentalize work and increase efficiency, which is a key message in the video about managing time better.

💡The 4-Hour Work Week

The 4-Hour Work Week is a book by Tim Ferriss that advocates for lifestyle design and outsourcing to achieve a lifestyle where work is only a small part of one's life. The video references this book to support the idea of reevaluating the value of time and seeking ways to work smarter, not harder.

💡Median Salaries

Median salaries represent the middle value in a list of numbers and are used in the video to discuss the average earnings in different professions. The speaker calculates the average hourly rate for various jobs using median salaries and median hours worked to illustrate that high annual earnings might not translate to high hourly wages.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance refers to the equilibrium between work and personal life. The video discusses the importance of not overworking and finding a balance that allows for personal fulfillment and well-being. It suggests that focusing on one thing at a time and time blocking can help achieve a better work-life balance.

💡Overwhelm

Overwhelm is a state of being excessively burdened or preoccupied. The video script uses the concept of overwhelm to describe the feeling of being unable to manage all tasks and responsibilities effectively. The speaker shares personal experiences of feeling overwhelmed and how they learned to manage their time to reduce this feeling.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the act of arranging tasks or objectives in order of importance. The video encourages viewers to prioritize their time and tasks, suggesting that not all activities may be equally important or necessary. It implies that by focusing on what truly matters, one can achieve more with less stress.

Highlights

The importance of valuing time in terms of hourly income instead of annual salary.

The paradox of increased workload despite raises, leading to a demotion in effective hourly wage.

The author's personal struggle with working long hours and the need for a productivity rethink.

The concept of changing the way we value our time to improve work-life balance.

The recommendation of Tim Ferris' book 'The 4-Hour Workweek' for insights on time valuation.

The impact of annual salaries on potential income and the demand for limitless time.

A detailed calculation of average hourly rates for high-paying professions.

The revelation that software developers earn approximately $56 per hour based on a 45-hour workweek.

Lawyers' average hourly wage is lower than commonly believed due to longer work hours.

Airline pilots work more hours than software engineers, impacting their effective hourly wage.

Fast food workers' wages are more accurately reflected when considering overtime pay.

Secondary school teachers work longer hours than assumed, affecting their hourly wage.

The advice to stop multitasking to improve productivity and focus.

The concept of 'One Thing' by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan for achieving extraordinary success.

The practice of time blocking to ensure focused work on the most important tasks.

The use of ClickUp as a productivity tool to manage tasks and time effectively.

The importance of time boxing leisure activities to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

The ancient Chinese Archer parable illustrating the importance of rest and balance.

The shift in the definition of wealth from material accumulation to well-being and relationships.

The societal pressure to do everything perfectly and the permission to do less.

The suggestion to reassess life priorities and consider what can be let go.

The idea that change starts with small steps in the right direction every day.

Transcripts

and I asked busy successful people just

how they got everything done without

having to work 24/7 don't sleep plenty

of time then so you're actually getting

demoted over time until you end up

getting roughly the amount per hour of a

Burger King employee while you're

working as an investment banker which

honestly isn't that much more than the

hourly wage of a fast food worker well

for

one stop multitasking I used to work a

lot at minimum 14 hours a day between

being a software engineer a YouTuber and

manager multiple properties I was

overwhelmed I had two choices either I

had to give something up or I had to

rethink the way that I approached

working so I ended up changing there was

a lot of trial and error involved tons

of research about the science of

productivity and I asked busy successful

people just how they got everything done

without having to work 24/7 don't sleep

plenty of time then no no no trust me

I've been there and thankfully I'm now

on the other

[Music]

side one of the most profound ideas that

I came across which it's actually really

simple was about changing the way that

you value your time especially in the

context of annual salary versus your

hourly income the the first step really

is is looking at new measurements of

time and how you spend that time so

first of all I'd encourage everybody to

look at their hourly income instead of

their annual income because it's very

common that you might make $50,000 a

year get a raise to 55 but your workload

goes up 20% so you're actually getting

demoted over time until you end up

getting roughly

the amount per hour of a Burger King

employee while you're working as an

investment banker which seems to be the

fashion at the moment so that was Tim

Ferris the author of The 4-Hour Work

week it's a great read I've actually

linked the book in the description below

if you want to check it out he claims

that we put too much emphasis on that

annual salary without actually thinking

about what our time is actually valued

at annual salaries are a sneaky way of

capping our potential income while

demanding Limitless time so I went ahead

and listed out the highest paying jobs

and their median salaries in 23 I found

the median hours worked for each

profession and calculated the average

hourly rate per job you guys the results

were shocking so here are some of the

professions that I listed and I got

these stats from the US Bureau of Labor

and statistics in 2023 so let's take a

look for software developers we're

making about

$132,000 and we work about 45 hours a

week which comes out to $56 an hour the

way I calculate this is just by dividing

the number by 52 weeks in a year and

then also dividing by the median hours

worked and you can see that's 45 hours

here the Assumption for this hourly wage

is probably a 40h hour work week but we

know that that's not true and now $56 an

hour is actually pretty good it's not

bad but you can see that it's not quite

what the US bureo of Labor and

statistics claims it is now if we go to

lawyers lawyers typically work 55 hours

a week and I've heard even more but this

is the statistic I got online so this

comes out to $50 an hour instead of $70

an hour and that's a huge difference

let's look at airline pilots so this is

also about

$54 an hour so you can see that actually

airline pilots make a lot more than

software Engineers do but not really if

you think about it because they work way

more hours they're making on average $54

an hour versus software Engineers making

$56 an hour now with fast food workers I

think it's a little bit more clear

because if you're working 40 hours a

week you're making that 1420 an hour and

if you work more you typically get

overtime so this seems to be accurate

and we all know with teachers their day

isn't done when the school day is done

they have to go grade papers create new

lesson plans and do a lot of stuff

outside of their workday we found 53

hours to be a little bit more accurate

rather than 40 hours a week so for the

secondary school teachers that comes out

to about 23 an hour which honestly isn't

that much more than the hourly wage of a

fast food worker and with being a

teacher you're going to school you're

getting your degree a lot of times

you're getting a master's degree to be a

high school teacher

so with this in mind how do we stop

robbing ourselves of our time and still

get the same amount of work done well

for

one stop multitasking it may sound

counterintuitive especially to all the

overachievers out there but in the one

thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

they talk about the extraordinary

success that you can achieve by focusing

on one thing at a time we're typically

told to try to handle multiple things at

the same time so as to get more done but

in reality that just decreased inrees

the quality of each task that we're

working on because we're spreading

ourselves too thin one way to overcome

this is by time blocking this involves

setting aside specific blocks of time on

your calendar dedicated exclusively to

working on your One Thing by protecting

your time from interruptions and

distractions you can ensure that your

most important work gets done and that's

why I use today's sponsor clickup

clickup is the ultimate productivity

tool it's one app that can replace all

your other productivity and reminder

apps you can create folders for all your

projects Dr and drop checklist boards

collaborate with Partners set recurring

reminders track your time on various

tasks manage calendars and leverage a

whole Suite of productivity tools and

templates created by experts as I

mentioned earlier I've been using

clickup to manage my calendar it's been

really easy to use and it helps me focus

on one task at a time before moving to

the next I've added 30 minute blocks for

Content creation for example so setting

up a one-on-one with my editor finishing

thumbnail for the video I've even added

a 30-minute block for going for a walk I

think that's super important because you

also want to time box your leisurely

activities you don't want to just

overload it with a lot of work so I also

put some fun stuff like play pickle ball

for an hour go work out go cook and do

things that actually make me feel really

good my favorite features are the

ability to categorize each task using

specific labels so I can filter for them

later on and honestly this kind of

replaces my need to use my own Gmail

calendar just today I marked off four

things from my list that I wouldn't have

marked off otherwise because usually it

takes me like an entire week to actually

focus and get things done now with

clickup it's taking less than half the

amount of time just because I'm able to

actually compartmentalize what I need to

get done next so that's why I recommend

click up it's totally free by the way

and you can use my link in the

description below trust me you won't

regret taking charge of organizing your

time and winning back even more in the

process in ancient China there was a

renowned Archer known throughout the

land for his unmatched skill his bow was

his most prized possession day after day

he would practice for hours keeping his

bow constantly bent believing that the

more he trained the greater his Mastery

would become however one day as he

pulled back the string to take Aim the

bow snapped in his hands the wood once

strong and flexible had become brittle

from being under constant tension the

Archer was devastated realizing that his

most valuable tool was now useless not

because of poor craftsmanship but

because he had pushed it too far without

giving it time to

rest initially being rich meant

accumulating a lot of wealth and then

enjoying that wealth in retirement but

according to long-term studies like the

Harvard study of adult development

prioritizing your well-being and

maintaining strong relationships

throughout your life leads to increased

happiness and fulfillment not waiting to

enjoy life in retirement so what does

this mean it means that spending most of

your time at a job that you hate making

a lot of money just to not really enjoy

what you're doing is a horrible way to

spend your life you're not even

guaranteed old age and yet you buy into

the idea that you have to do everything

and be everything everywhere all at once

sometimes the society and the social

media has made us believe that H in

order to be happy with your life you

must H do 100 things together at the

same time and you must do everything

perfectly it's okay if you don't do

everything perfectly it's okay if you

don't want to do everything just do some

things or choose to do some things so

what if you just threw my advice away

about doing more in less time and just

did less what if there are things in

your life that you actually shouldn't be

prioritizing at all and yet you're doing

it anyways and I get it everyone has

obligations family survival safety but

isn't there that one thing that you

could just give in on isn't there that

one friend that you just always feel

obligated to hang out with but you don't

actually really enjoy spending time with

them or isn't there that one work event

that everyone always asks you to lead

because they think you're so good at it

but you just dread doing it every single

time change starts with making a 1% step

in the right direction every single day

it doesn't have to be big but you don't

have to settle for feeling overwhelmed

all of the time just for the sake of

being productive and I'll leave you with

those last closing thoughts so hopefully

you guys got something out of this I

know it took me a lot of learning and

relearning and failing to try to

understand how to get to the point that

I'm at now and I'm still not perfect

there are times where I'm still

overwhelmed but I do have a lot more

control over my schedule than I did

before

for I was overwhelmed