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30 Years Ago, Psychology Discovered the Secret to Exceptional Productivity. It’s the Opposite of What You Probably Expect

Jessica Stillman

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As someone who has written about productivity and success for 15 years now, I am always on the hunt for new productivity secrets. What does the latest research say about getting things done? What productivity hacks have super successful people just shared?

But every once in a while I stumble across something that reminds me some of the best tricks for increasing your productivity aren’t new at all. They’re old but unjustly forgotten. Just take the wisdom of psychologist Robert Boice, who did his most famous work way back in the ’90s, for example.

Who was Robert Boice?

To be fair, Boice isn’t entirely forgotten. His books on how to be a productive writer may be out of print, but they’re such cult classics that they often sell for $100 or more. And he’s the subject of plenty of admiring but usually obscure blog posts and articles.

In fact, Boice’s work is so under the radar, I never came across his name in all the years I’ve been digging through the internet for nuggets of productivity wisdom — until he was briefly mentioned in last week’s edition of “Imperfectionist,” the newsletter of best-selling author Oliver Burkeman. (Which is great by the way — if…

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