Improving efficiency at a task (like processing email) does not reduce the total burden because efficiency itself attracts more of that task into your life through feedback loops—replying to more emails causes more replies, building a reputation for responsiveness invites more email, creating an infinite treadmill.
causalpending
Speaker
Oliver BurkemanEvidence Quote
“if all you do is become more efficient uh in any system is made just more efficient with with nothing else being done in terms of it how you select your priorities if all you're doing is trying to process more stuff than all else being equal that will attract more and more stuff to do into your life”
Source
265 - Time, productivity, and purpose: insights from Four Thousand Weeks | Oliver Burkeman— Peter Attia MDCreated: 8/12/2026, 6:12:21 PM
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