Boost Your Productivity With Albert Einstein’s Work Principles

Albert Einstein is most known for his theory of general relativity and one of the world’s most-known mathematical formulas: E = m*c². But Einstein was not only a brilliant mathematician but highly articulate in philosophy. Throughout his career, he created work principles that he adhered to boost his productivity and create a clear focus throughout his day.

Let’s jump into his principles - you can add these to your own principles.

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What is Productivity?

Productivity measures how efficiently and effectively you can convert your time and resources into your desired results. Like me while writing this article. I’m translating my time, energy, and informational resources into a text that allows others to understand Einstein’s principles. It took me around two hours to collect the information from my Notion (previous work) and additional resources from the internet to create it.

To increase my productivity, I focus. I cleared my environment, turned my phone into airplane mode, and set a timer to 45 minutes with 5 minutes breaks in between. Notion also increases my productivity, as I can quickly scan through prior quotes and ideas I wrote about Albert Einstein. I prioritized writing this article during the time I allocated towards it - I set everything else back in priority.

I inadvertently ingrained a few of Einstein’s principles in my work ethic - so let’s systematically analyze Einstein’s principles.

Albert Einstein’s Productivity Principles

Einstein was known for his ability to work highly productively and cram a lot of work into his daily schedule. As a research associate, he was frequently interrupted, held classes, and managed a busy schedule. Despite these interruptions and his busy schedule, Einstein was able to output scientific papers, advance mathematics, and physics, and evolve his philosophical mind.

The quote that follows might or might not be directly from Albert Einstein. Sources contradict themselves about the validity of Einstein saying this, but it is possible that he said something analogous to:

We are most productive when we focus on a very small number of projects on which we can devote a large amount of attention.

Here are the principles that helped him to do so:

1. Focus: Einstein focused intensely on his work during the allocated times that he planned into his schedule. He eliminated distractions when he needed to create a productive environment. Einstein’s core principles about productivity revolved around the ability to focus intensely to get the work done efficiently and effectively.

   Here is a quote suitable to his focus:

   “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

2. Prioritization: Einstein understood that not all tasks are equally important. Like Eisenhower’s Decision Matrix, Einstein prioritized tasks based on importance and urgency. He focused on the top-priority tasks that would generate the most significant impact or, in financial terms, return on investment.

   Einstein emphasized the importance of curiosity and the desire to understand the world. Prioritization aligns with this concept, and he said,”:

   “The most important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

3. Time Management: Tasks can be classified into similar groups. Einstein used batching techniques to focus on similar work. That allowed him to maintain his thoughts within similar categories. Shifting between a mathematical task to an administrative task requires your brain to reorient, which requires a lot of brain power.

   Time management and categorization require a certain level of dedication and imagination. Einstein said the following about imagination:

   “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

4. Planning: Einstein had daily rituals and spent time preparing his day, week, and month. He carefully planned his schedule with attention to detail. He believed that taking the time to plan out tasks and projects ahead of time helps save time and effort in the long run.

   Planning is like solving a problem. Instead of starting with a solution immediately, spend more understanding the problem. In this case, the “problem” is how you can become more productive. Think of it this way:

   “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

5. Flexibility: Despite being an eager planner and having his routines, Einstein understood that things don’t always go as planned. Having the willingness to remain flexible and to adapt his approach allowed him to adjust to changing information and pivot when necessary.

   Flexibility requires you to understand your environment and that it’s constantly changing. Your intuition plays a crucial role in understanding new information and adapting your plan accordingly. Einstein said the following about intuition:

   “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”

Summary

I hope that these principles by one of our favorite mathematicians help you become more productive in your personal life and career. Einstein shared immense knowledge with us from which we can learn and think about how his principles align with ours.

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