The Science of Productivity by Charles Duhigg

November 11, 2016 by Deepak Bisht

When the Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and New York Times best-selling author took the stage at INBOUND16, the audience was in for a real treat. As soon as Charles Duhigg took the stage, he made it clear that he is going to talk about the science of productivity.

.@cduhigg “I’m not going to talk about the election today… not yet anyway. I’m going to talk about the science of productivity.”#INBOUND16pic.twitter.com/JIwkPcZlAK


— Alex Plaxen (@APlaxen) 10 November 2016

He started by drawing a comparison between our spouses and smartphones.

And then he said something which not many multi-taskers would like to hear:

The session was a disappointment for people who were looking for productivity hacks, tips or tricks. During the session, no productivity hacks were shared. Rather, Charles focused on redefining productivity and related elements like thinking, innovation, and focus.

He began with thinking and talked about the importance of contemplative routines.

You know which is ‘THE’ productivity app? Well, you don’t need to search your app stores.

After making the audience think about thinking, he moved to creativity and innovation. He pointed out the patterns observed in ventures which are innovative to the audience by citing the example of  the musical, West Side Story.

He called creativity an export-import business!

And to be an innovation broker you ought to have a contemplative routine.

Once, you establish a contemplative routine and start exposing yourself to varied experiences you become a better, smarter, faster innovation broker.

He also talked about situational awareness and focus.

You expect people to get motivated after such inspiring sessions. And that’s exactly what happened:

So that was all from Duhigg. Looks like it’s time to create our own routines.

Looking for other awesome sessions that happened at INBOUND16? Check our INBOUND16 coverage for great session recaps and more.