One of the greatest productivity thinkers in history lived more than two thousand years ago.

Aristotle was not talking about an empty inbox, time-blocking, or productivity apps. But he spent his life thinking about how human beings should make decisions, develop good habits, and live their best possible life.

Five of his insights have completely changed the way I think about productivity.

Number five: discard unpromising projects right away.

Aristotle believed that good judgement means understanding what is potentially achievable, what is likely, and what is impossible.

In his Nicomachean Ethics, he made an important distinction: practical wisdom or “pronoia” is not simply knowing things in general. Is knowing what to do in particular circumstances.

For instance, when we are working on a project that clearly is not going anywhere.

We often continue because we have already invested time, money and effort.

But Aristotle encouraged me to look at the situation rationally: What is the likely outcome of this project? Is this effort going to lead to a worthwhile outcome?

If not, I prefer to stop immediately.

Quitting an unpromising project means accepting failure today, so that we can do better tomorrow.

It means freeing up our time, energy and financial resources, so that we can work on promising projects.

Sometimes, practical wisdom demands that we take a loss today to increase our profits tomorrow.

Number four: when making decisions, I only focus on cause and effect, and ignore the side issues.

Aristotle developed a sophisticated theory of cause and effect. 

Understanding causality plays a central role in  his philosophy.

He distinguished different kinds of causes because he wanted to understand not merely what we are today, but what we can become tomorrow.

That led me to powerful productivity questions:

“What is preventing me from advancing fast?” 

“What is today’s cause of my success and happiness in the future?

Instead of wasting time with emotions and distractions, I want to grasp the chain of cause and effect.

If I feel constantly running out of time, I don’t want to complain about being busy.

Instead, I want to figure out what is causing the problem.

The same logic applies to suffering from overcommitment, poor planning, and too many interruptions.

Aristotle taught me that, if I find the cause, I can change the result.

Number three: focus primarily on my lifetime goals, not on the little problems of the day.

Aristotle asked a much bigger question than “How can I have a productive day?”

He asked: “What does it mean to live a good life?”

His answer to this question can be summarised in two words: human flourishing.

Aristotle wrote that a good life is achieved by adopting good goals and good habits, not by some isolated action.

That idea changed how I look at my to-do list.

The question is not simply, “Which tasks do I need to do today?”

But  “Is this task going to help me become the person I want to become?”

A busy life can still prove a waste of time.

We should not confuse being busy with making progress in the areas that really matter.

Number two: adopt clear ethical values and use them to make quick decisions.

Aristotle believed that a good outcome depends on making ethical choices.

Because bad choices always lead, in the long term, to bad consequences.

That has enormous implications for productivity.

If we decide in advance that we value honesty and independence, those values become our decision-making filters.

If we have clear values, we don’t have to reconsider everything from scratch.

When a choice needs to be made, I simply ask myself: “Does this match my values or not?”

If the answer is no, then I drop the project immediately.

Besides, having clear values reduces our decision fatigue.

And number one: prioritise self-reliance, even when it costs me in the short term.

Aristotle spent years learning from Plato, observing nature, studying politics, medicine, biology, and philosophy.

But eventually, he developed his own ideas, started his own school, and taught to his own students.

There’s a lesson here: learning from other people is essential, but our ultimate goal is to become self-reliant.

That is a crucial productivity principle by itself.

Let us not lose sight of the end goal.

Let us learn the skills, make mistakes, and improve in order to attain self-reliance.

Doing something ourselves may initially be slower than relying on someone else.

But over time, our competence and skill compound.

And that brings me back to Aristotle’s key idea.

Productivity is not about getting more things done.

It’s about choosing worthwhile things, understanding causes, keeping your eyes on the bigger picture, acting according to clear values, and continually developing our abilities.

In other words, the goal isn’t to have a busier life.

But to have a better one.

If you are interested in applying rational ideas in all sorts of situations, I recommend my book “The 10 Principles of Rational Living.”