Slow productivity. Interesting concept. Maybe today's knowledge work really needs it, maybe it does not, I am not here to critique it but to understand the nuance behind slow productivity. In an attention demanding world, we all want to be seen. To be seen so quickly that we have begun recognizing the idea of slow productivity as the most important one. However, it's not. I'm wondering if that idea is really true.
Take a look at this quote. If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking eventually you'll make progress. How interesting. This is Barack Obama speaking. One has to walk down a path that's right and if you keep walking you will eventually make progress. I don't really know what to say to expand this thought, because it's pretty self-explanatory. But I would imagine that one should know what the right path is. Moreover, I also want to ask chatgpt to expand this a little better.
Basically, what it says is that its not about the speed, its direction that matters quite a lot. If you are walking down the right path in terms of progress, eventually you'll make it. It might be filled with self-doubt, hard work, and moments where it feels like nothing is happening. But if the path aligns with your values, your purpose, or your long-term vision, then continuing on it — even slowly — will lead to meaningful progress.
A college student decides to pursue computer science, but in the first semester, they fail a key programming class. Doubts creep in, “Am I cut out for this?” But deep down, they know they love solving problems and building things. So they keep going. They retake the class, seek help, build side projects. Two years later, they’re interning at a top company.
Someone who’s never exercised starts running. At first, they can barely jog for 5 minutes. It feels embarrassing. But they’ve chosen the right path — improving their health. So they lace up every day. After weeks, they can jog 20 minutes. After months, they complete their first 5K. Then maybe a half-marathon.
Someone who's never learned canva start learning something and creating projects of their own. There's no end to creation of those type of projects as you can keep on trying and making multiple errors during the time. However what truly matters is that you try. You try and keep creating something and then start progressing later. So my point out here is that its not always about perfection. It's about progress. Even if you progress a little bit each day that's great too and you can create a mini project of your own while you learn something.
Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. I love this quote because it completely resonates with me. First of all, let me add this idea that continuous improvement is for the entire life. Not just one day or the other day. We want to improve continuously towards everything. For an example, I am currently learning Spanish on duolingo so I am improving my Spanish daily. It's still that I am learning certain words. Somedays I do need energetic stuff, somedays I need more calmness. However the point is that you want continuous improvement. Imagine if you are the greatest cricketer in the world at the moment, in order to be the greatest forever you need to continuously improve your technique, improve reaction time and work on things that matter. Similarly, as a software engineer don't just do your day to day stuff. Build projects outside of your comfort zone just for your interest. Don't just be a mediocre software engineer. You can learn more languages as a software engineer. You can learn system design as a software engineer, the point of it all is that there's no end to the improvement that you can have as a software engineer. For someone who is into gyming, don't just go to the gym and come back. In fact it usually does start with going to the gym and coming back, however, going to the gym hitting your goals and then expanding your goals is also equally important. So make sure you do everything you can to hit your goals. I have learnt that it's great to timebox your entire day. That's something that's working for me. But I want to continuously improve and adopt more different styles. Sometimes all I need is a more different style in terms of being energetic. Sometimes something else.
According to Carol Dweck, the author of the book growth mindset, she believes that effort is more important than talent. People with a growth mindset believe that they don't know something and they can learn it easily. Have a look at this image down :
If you look at this properly, people with a growth mindset believe that failure is an opportunity to grow. They also think that they can learn to do anything they want to. Taking challenges as an opportunity to grow. Effort and attitude determine my abilities. Feedback is constructive. Inspired by the success of others. I like to try new things. How beautiful. Basically this picture is enough to teach us so many things we never thought. So whenever you are stuck with a problem think about what effort you need in order to learn and grow out of that difficulty. After all it's about effort and not about anything else. The more effort you put in the better and that's how you will grow in life. Effort means everything. Somebody who's not putting in the effort is not great. So yeah start putting in the effort and you'll learn more things than you possibly thought.
There are more books like this as well. I have loved the book Grit as well which talks about a very similar thing. Btw grit to me simply means persistence. Take a look at this particular quote:
To be gritty is to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To be gritty is to hold fast to an interesting and purposeful goal. To be gritty is to invest, day after day, week after week, year after year in challenging practice. To be gritty is to fall down seven times and rise eight.
To be gritty is to refuse to give up when things get hard. It’s the quiet determination of someone who may not always be the most talented, but is always the most committed. It’s the willingness to show up every day, even when the results aren’t immediate, even when the rewards are invisible.
To be gritty is to keep moving forward, one small step at a time, even when the path is steep, the skies are grey, and others have turned back. It’s to believe in the value of the destination so deeply that you're willing to endure discomfort, boredom, setbacks, and doubt.
To be gritty is to choose consistency over intensity, to embrace the slow burn rather than the flashy spark. It’s about sticking to a purpose that matters to you — not because it’s easy, but because it’s meaningful.
To be gritty is to commit to deliberate practice, the kind that stretches you, exhausts you, and refines you. It's waking up early to train when no one’s watching. It’s writing one more draft, rehearsing one more time, trying one more approach.
To be gritty is to fall down seven times and rise eight, to fail, feel the weight of it, and still gather yourself and rise. Not just once, but again and again, until failure loses its power to define you.
To be gritty is to trust the process.
To believe that effort counts twice.
And to know, deep down, that greatness isn't about moments — it’s about momentum.
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