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ChatGPT Founder Sam Altman's Secrets to Effective Productivity

· 5 min read

This is a blog post written by ChatGPT founder Sam Altman in 2018, offering effective advice on how to improve productivity.

What Are You Doing?​

The Essence of Long-termism is the Compound Interest Formula​

Compound interest is a financial term, but it also applies to personal careers. If you produce output every day, your compound returns after 50 years will be enormous. Improving your productivity is extremely important - increasing from 1% to 10% daily improvement will make compound returns even greater.

See the compound interest formula at 👉 The Essence of Long-termism is the Compound Interest Formula

The Core of Improving Productivity: Do What You Love​

Moving forward in the wrong direction is moving backward. Take time to think deeply about what you love to do. Only things you're passionate about can truly improve your productivity.

Delegate What You Don't Like to People Who Do​

Doing what you love multiplies your efficiency, but for things you don't like, try not to do them - delegate, avoid, or find other ways. When delegating, make sure to delegate to people who enjoy doing those things, because based on the principle that "doing what you love improves efficiency," the delegate should also be able to complete the task efficiently.

Stick to Your Convictions​

What has left a deep impression on me over the years are people with strong convictions - such people are rare in the general population. If you find yourself always agreeing with others, that's not a good thing. Stick to your convictions. Sometimes you might be wrong, but when others are confused and you do what's right and important, you'll become more brave and extraordinary.

Avoid People Who Drain You​

To accomplish something great, you should strive to be around smart, positive, productive, and cheerful people who won't casually belittle your ideals and ambitions, who can push you forward and bring you inspiration. Within your ability, avoid being with people who drag you into mental exhaustion - otherwise the cost will be enormous.

Find the Right Problems and Solve Them​

We're basically all in red ocean industries with fierce competition. What we need to do is work smartly and diligently, find the right problems and solve them correctly. There aren't many shortcuts here.

Priorities​

Three Basic Principles​

  1. Get important things done
  2. Don't waste time on BS
  3. Make lots of lists

Strongly Recommend Using Lists​

Write down annual, monthly, and daily tasks in lists. Lists help you focus on current tasks and allow you to handle multiple tasks (because your brain is freed up from having to remember so many tasks).

You can write lists on paper for easy addition and removal, and taking notes during meetings won't offend others.

Review lists frequently, modify or delete tasks promptly. Don't waste time on categorizing and sorting - just mark important things with a "⭐️".

Prioritize Things That Build Momentum​

Prioritize things that can generate "momentum" - when you complete one thing and feel accomplished, you continue to the next.

Learn to Be Ruthless​

"To complete my most important projects, I become tough and ruthless - I've found that if I really want something to happen and I push hard enough, it usually happens."

I am relentless about getting my most important projects done—I've found that if I really want something to happen and I push hard enough, it usually happens.

"I try to be ruthless, saying no to irrelevant things, and implementing non-critical tasks in the fastest way possible. I probably take this too far—for example, I am almost sure I am terse to the point of rudeness when replying to emails."

"I try to be ruthless about saying no to stuff, and doing non-critical things in the quickest way possible. I probably take this too far—for example, I am almost sure I am terse to the point of rudeness when replying to emails."

Maintain an Open Social Network​

Try to avoid meetings and conferences as they waste lots of time and energy. But keep some openness in your schedule to meet new people and ideas - maintaining an open social network is important. At conferences, while 90% is wasted time, the 10% that's valuable can make up for the loss.

Physical Aspects​

This section covers sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Some are clichés, and Sam is an extreme vegetarian, so I'll skip this part. See the original text if interested.

Other Aspects​

Comfortable Office Environment​

An office that's quiet without interruptions, with natural light and a beautiful desk, plus multiple 4K monitors.

Some Tips​

  • Write custom tools to handle annoying, repetitive tasks
  • Improve typing speed
  • Learn keyboard shortcuts

The Terrible "Period"​

Like many people, occasionally there are one or two weeks of lost motivation, with no interest in anything.

There's no good solution yet, but believe that the "period" will always pass, and afterward you'll be energetic again to continue fighting.

Also, when in a bad mood, avoid contact with others - this is sincere advice.

Value Your Loved Ones and Family​

Don't ignore your loved ones and family for the sake of efficiency - you've improved efficiency but lost happiness.

Finally​

Sam's views on improving efficiency are worth considering, and he also emphasizes: Don't fall into the efficiency trap - improving efficiency isn't the goal, our goal is to complete tasks quickly and with quality.