I doubt there is any easy way; maybe after a long time you could say that technique A or B seems to work for you, but I think there are huge placebo effects at work here. For example, I often feel a bit of a [short-lived] burst of energy after reading one of the self-help books—almost any of such books (Getting Things Done, The 7 Habits, even Tony Robbins’ books), which does not really say much about the efficacy of the specific techniques.
Maybe you have a twin brother or sister who could be the control group?
I think there are huge placebo effects at work here. For example, I often feel a bit of a [short-lived] burst of energy after reading one of the self-help books
Even placebo can be measured. And if the placebo works even when you know it is a placebo… then why not use it?
Suggested experiment: Does reading the same self-help book again increase your productivity again? How much? Are the results different if you read it gain after one week, after one month, after one year?
If the book effect is repeatable, then just buy a sequence of books and make a habit to read them one hour each week, or whatever the experiment shows is the amount that brings the best “productivity increase : time spent reading” ratio. Problem basically solved; now you only improve details like which books work best, what is the best time of day for reading them, comparing reading a paper book with listening to audio version, etc.
The practical use of placebos is an interesting subject in itself; although research suggests the effect is not very strong (see e.g. Is the Placebo Powerless? , as cited in the wikipedia entry.
Anyway, I’m getting off-topic :)
The original poster of the article seems to be interested in comparing various techniques—and to do a good comparison, one should really try to avoid placebo noise from the comparison.
Indeed, they’re short-lived for me as well, added it to my comment. As per Sturgeon’s law, most ‘self-help’ books are not very good, but just about any are a good refresher of some of the basics - like Focus on the goal or Make goals measurable, and track the progress etc.
In daily use, probably Getting things done has been the most influential for me—maybe because it’s mostly about a number of useful techniques, rather than thinking too much about them.
And I’ve seen people who work on self-improvement say that the motivation needs to be refreshed and maintained, so reading (or rereading) self-help books might be a standard approach.
I doubt there is any easy way; maybe after a long time you could say that technique A or B seems to work for you, but I think there are huge placebo effects at work here. For example, I often feel a bit of a [short-lived] burst of energy after reading one of the self-help books—almost any of such books (Getting Things Done, The 7 Habits, even Tony Robbins’ books), which does not really say much about the efficacy of the specific techniques.
Maybe you have a twin brother or sister who could be the control group?
Even placebo can be measured. And if the placebo works even when you know it is a placebo… then why not use it?
Suggested experiment: Does reading the same self-help book again increase your productivity again? How much? Are the results different if you read it gain after one week, after one month, after one year?
If the book effect is repeatable, then just buy a sequence of books and make a habit to read them one hour each week, or whatever the experiment shows is the amount that brings the best “productivity increase : time spent reading” ratio. Problem basically solved; now you only improve details like which books work best, what is the best time of day for reading them, comparing reading a paper book with listening to audio version, etc.
The practical use of placebos is an interesting subject in itself; although research suggests the effect is not very strong (see e.g. Is the Placebo Powerless? , as cited in the wikipedia entry.
Anyway, I’m getting off-topic :)
The original poster of the article seems to be interested in comparing various techniques—and to do a good comparison, one should really try to avoid placebo noise from the comparison.
Yes, I have had the same experience, although it always seems short-lived.
Perhaps it says more about the technique of consuming motivational self-help books, more than the techniques described inside.
Indeed, they’re short-lived for me as well, added it to my comment. As per Sturgeon’s law, most ‘self-help’ books are not very good, but just about any are a good refresher of some of the basics - like Focus on the goal or Make goals measurable, and track the progress etc.
In daily use, probably Getting things done has been the most influential for me—maybe because it’s mostly about a number of useful techniques, rather than thinking too much about them.
And I’ve seen people who work on self-improvement say that the motivation needs to be refreshed and maintained, so reading (or rereading) self-help books might be a standard approach.