Productivity Advice From The Man Who Inspired Elon Musk

Richard Feynman — Nobel Prize-winning scientist, teacher and drummer — knew how to get things done.

Regarded as one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, Richard Feynman has an academic resume long enough to be an article in itself. However, despite being busy revolutionising quantum electrodynamics and winning a Nobel Prize he still found the time to marry three times, be a father, play drums in an orchestra, teach at Cornell and California Institute of Technology and write two autobiographies.

During his sixty-nine years of life, Feynman changed the world multiple times over. With a legacy like his, it’s no surprise that the likes of Elon Musk — the modern-day prophet of productivity — consider him to be a major influence and inspiration. But how is it that Feynman was able to accomplish so much?

From watching his lectures that are available online and reading his autobiography it’s clear to gather the man was eccentric, to say the least. The way in which he explains difficult concepts in such an approachable manner to his entertaining anecdotes — his approach to life is fascinating.

Feynman’s philosophies towards work and how he interacts with the world are what set him apart and, in turn, set him up to be the powerhouse that he was. And, being the great teacher that he was, he wasn’t one to shy away from giving away his secrets to success and has left the world with a treasure trove of life insight and advice.

By delving into his mindset and opening ourselves up to his perspective, we too can benefit from their productivity inducing results.

Treat work like a game

“The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter and human compassion.”

To Feynman life was fun, everything was interesting. The world was a game and fundamental physics, to him, were the rules. By playing the game he’d be able to catch on to more rules, practice them and eventually win. This attitude was what motivated him to keep going — crediting his ‘everything’s a game’ mindset as his means to get back on track whenever he felt out of touch.

Adopting a playful attitude to life and your work is a driving force like no other. By treating whatever it is you’re doing as a game you have a motivator — an agenda to win. And with determination and persistence, you can learn the rules of whatever game you’re playing, master them and achieve your goal.

As human beings, we’re competitive by nature and by encouraging that instinct we can get the push we need to start doing something. A ‘life’s a game’ mindset is a trigger for action — a productivity Kickstarter.

Be honest with yourself

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”

Feynman was modest, he didn’t try to sell himself as a human anomaly — a man of innate talent that no one could compete with. He spoke in a simple and clear manner, he wasn’t one to try to overcomplicate to appear more impressive.

By being honest with himself, he was able to acknowledge that anyone could have made the discoveries that he did. It kept his ego in check.

Being humble isn’t thinking less of oneself but rather to think of oneself less. You do not have all the answers, you are not the only person for the job, there’s always more involved than just you. When you let go of your ego it’s easier to seek help and learn from others. Tasks can be shared and workloads can be halved.

Don’t lie to yourself. Convinced that you don’t need help or that you have the solutions, you’ll often find yourself being held back. Get help and get more done.

Know that you don’t know

“We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.”

The world was a big mystery to Feynman and he accepted that there was a lot he didn’t know — in fact, he liked it. Ignorance was indeed bliss because being ignorant meant there was something to discover.

Not knowing something should be a welcome experience. It’s a tool for inspiration, an igniter of curiosity. Know that you don’t know and use that to encourage you to discover.

You may even be wrong about what you think you know — embrace that. Don’t be afraid to fail and make mistakes, you need to have those experiences in order to progress. Try to prove yourself wrong to move forward.

Don’t think about what you want to be in the future, think about what you want to do now

“Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn’t matter. Explore the world. Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough. Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best. Don’t think about what you want to be, but what you want to do. Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn’t stop you from doing anything at all.”

Watching Feynman lecture, there’s a passion in him. He loved what he did, physics made him happy. However, his life wasn’t dedicated solely to physics — whatever he wanted to do at that time he did. And by doing so, he would naturally give it his best efforts.

When it comes to taking on tasks to achieve a certain goal do the ones you want to do first and the rest will follow. By doing what you enjoy you’ll perform better, improve your focus and get more done.

If you’re constantly thinking about what you want to be and doing what you don’t want to do in order to achieve that you’re wasting your energy. If you drain yourself out you won’t be able to reach that goal anyways — you may even end up resenting it.

Do what you want to do and no work will ever be a waste of time.

Embrace what makes you weird

“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”

Feynman was a character. There’s no other way to put it — he was bizarre. As an academic and scientist you’d expect him to be this uptight, dry, serious guy, not a fun-loving bongo enthusiast who’d be constantly found getting into trouble. He didn’t fit his scientist stereotype.

Following his own path, Feynman lived under no expectations. The only pressure he was under was his own. Not being responsible for anyone but himself and his own goals allowed him to live freely and get more enjoyment from life.

Trying to live up to expectations and being the person who people expect you to be can leave you doubtful of your abilities, second-guessing yourself, wary of criticism — all of these things prevent you from performing at your best. You may hold back because you’re afraid to fail or you might overwork yourself and burn out as a result of imposter syndrome.

If you only have yourself to impress and do what works for you then there’s nothing holding you back. If people don’t like it, it’s their problem. So what if the way you do things is considered weird or you’re not following the standards? It doesn’t matter as long as you’re accomplishing what you want, how you want.

The Takeaway

If there’s one word to summarise Feynman, it’s passionate. He did what he loved and loved what he did. At the end of the day, that’s all it really boils down to.

If you want to be more productive and reach your goals, you have to have a passion for them. When you love doing something you don’t have to rely on something as fleeting as motivation.

Live a life that you enjoy and embrace all of its aspects. That’s the secret to being sustainably productive. Do more because you actually want to — you need to.