Video summary
The discussion centers on a critical distinction between inputs, outputs, and outcomes in productivity, challenging the popular advice found in James Clear's *Atomic Habits*. While acknowledging that Clear's concept of systems is valuable, the speaker argues that many people misinterpreted his message by focusing exclusively on optimizing inputs. Inputs represent effort applied, such as sitting at a desk for eight hours or going to the gym five times; while these actions feel noble and prove hard work, they do not guarantee direction or progress toward specific goals. The core issue identified is that individuals often stop at this first level of productivity, burning calories through activity without actually moving closer to their desired results. Moving beyond mere effort, the conversation introduces outputs as the second stage of productivity, defined as actual work done rather than just time spent. Examples provided include sending fifty emails instead of simply sitting at a desk or publishing four blog posts rather than drafting messages for hours. Although counting these tangible actions provides a sense of measurable progress and allows one to look at spreadsheets with satisfaction, outputs fail to prove real-world impact. One can send numerous emails without receiving replies, publish podcasts that do not engage an audience, or complete workouts while failing to change body composition due to poor diet; in this stage, motion is mistaken for momentum because the actions themselves are decoupled from their effectiveness. The third and most crucial level of productivity identified is outcomes, which measure real-world results rather than activity volume. Outcomes represent actual changes achieved, such as closing three new clients instead of counting sent emails, or adding twenty pounds to a bench press through an effective training plan that also considers diet. This distinction marks the line between merely looking busy and being truly effective; measuring inputs leads to proficiency in trying, while measuring outputs leads to proficiency in producing, but only by focusing on outcomes does one become good at winning. The speaker emphasizes that true progress requires asking whether specific actions actually moved an individual closer to their goals, noting that if they did not, the duration or volume of effort expended was irrelevant to actual advancement. A significant point of contention arises regarding control and motivation; while inputs are entirely within a person's control—such as deciding how many hours to sit at a desk—the ultimate outcomes often depend on external factors like market conditions or audience reception. This detachment from immediate results creates a difficult feedback loop, making it harder to stay motivated because the connection between effort and result is obscured over time. The speaker uses athletic training in pre-season as an analogy: while strength conditioning reduces injury risk, its true purpose is not just physical preparation but winning games. As one moves further away from the genesis of their efforts toward distant outcomes, drawing a direct line becomes increasingly difficult, yet maintaining that focus remains essential because all intermediate actions are ultimately means to achieve those real-world results. The dialogue concludes with an acknowledgment that while people often avoid focusing on outcomes due to feelings of lack of control over them, this avoidance is counterproductive. The ultimate goal dictates the direction and validity of every preceding action; one does not sit at a desk or send emails simply for the sake of doing so but because those activities serve a larger purpose tied to specific results. Even when the path involves difficult adjustments like pulling an all-nighter, these efforts are driven by the necessity of achieving real-world impact rather than just completing tasks. The conversation reinforces that effective productivity requires shifting focus from counting hours and actions to evaluating whether work generates tangible value, ensuring that effort is aligned with winning in the long term.
Read the full video transcript
This is really cool. So,
I was speaking to Ali Abdaal who is a
host of the Next Generation podcast. I
was trying to explain to him the
difference between inputs,
outputs,
and outcomes.
So,
this is the input-output delusion.
I've got a sense that there are three
levels of productivity: inputs, outputs,
and outcomes. Most people stop at the
first two and then wonder why nothing in
their life actually changes.
So, inputs are effort applied.
I sat at my desk for 8 hours.
I spent 2 hours drafting an outreach
message. I went to the gym five times
this week.
Inputs feel noble. They prove that
you're working hard,
but effort without direction just burns
calories. You can spend all day trying
and still be no closer to the thing that
you want.
This, as far as I can see,
is one of the issues that came in the
wake of Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Phenomenal book, fantastic writer,
but
when he said you don't rise to the level
of your goals, you fall to the level of
your systems, everybody started
optimizing for inputs only, and I don't
think this is what he meant,
but everybody started optimizing just
for inputs. I sat at my desk for 8
hours. I spent 2 hours drafting outreach
messages. I went to the gym five times
this week.
Inputs are noble,
feel like you're working hard, they show
everybody else that you're working hard,
but they don't necessarily
point you in the right direction. And
you can spend all day trying and still
be no closer to the thing that you want.
So, the next stage that people get to is
outputs.
So, if uh inputs are effort applied,
outputs are work done.
So,
I sent 50 emails, right? Rather than I
sat at my desk for 8 hours.
Um I published four blog posts as
opposed to I spent hours drafting
messages. Um I completed all my
programmed workouts as opposed to I went
to the gym five times this week. You
could go to the gym and not complete
your workout. You could sit at your desk
for eight hours and not send 50 emails.
>> [snorts]
>> So, outputs feel even better because you
can count them.
You can look at the spreadsheet and
think, "I'm being productive. Look at
what I made."
But, outputs don't prove impact. You can
send 50 emails
and get no replies. You can publish four
podcasts that don't move your audience.
You can lift weights every day without
changing your diet and see zero results.
It's motion, not momentum.
So, we move on to the third level, which
is I think what people should be more
focused on. These are outcomes. So, if
inputs are effort applied
and outputs are work done
outcomes are real-world results.
So,
I closed three new clients, not I sent
50 emails and certainly not I sat at my
desk for eight hours.
Um,
the new training plan added 20 lb to my
bench press.
Not I completed my programmed workouts
or I went to the gym five times this
week.
Uh, my latest article doubled our
inbound leads, right? You get where I'm
going.
Outcomes measure change.
They tell you whether your work actually
did what it was supposed to do. And this
is the line between looking busy,
feeling productive, and being effective.
Inputs, outputs, outcomes.
Busy people count hours and actions.
Effective people count impact.
If you measure inputs, you'll get good
at trying.
If you measure outputs, you'll get good
at producing. But, if you measure
outcomes, you'll get good at winning.
So, stop keeping score with time and
activity
and start asking the one
question after everything you do, "Did
this actually move me closer to my
goals?
And if it didn't, doesn't matter how
long it took or how much you got done,
it wasn't progress.
I love this idea. Inputs,
outputs, outcomes. The difference
between
effort applied, work done,
real world results. I
I really love it and I think
it makes sense why we don't necessarily
focus on the real world results because
unfortunately we're not as in control of
that. It would certainly be
much further on the edges of your stoic
fork of you know, is this in my control
or out of my control? Um,
you don't control whether or not you
close three clients.
All you control is did you sit at your
desk for eight hours and how many emails
did you send?
But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't
ultimately be focused on the destination
thing that you are trying to achieve.
Like that's the direction that I'm going
in and I'm going to have to adjust
course and I maybe have to drive faster
and maybe I'm going to have to pull an
all-nighter in the car,
but
the only reason that you're doing this
stuff, typically in this sort of
situation,
is because of the real world results
that you're trying to get. You're not
doing it simply to do it. You're not
sitting at your desk just to sit at your
desk or to send 50 emails. There is a
reason for all of those things.
Uh even the practice in this regard,
like it it it gets a bit squirrely
because you're so far detached from the
outcome, but like why are you doing
strength and conditioning training in
the pre-season if you're an athlete?
Well, it's to reduce your injury risk
or to increase your speed,
but even that isn't true. It's to win
the game.
Like it's so that you win more Okay,
what actually happened? What were the
real world results of me doing this? And
the further that you get away from the
genesis of your effort
and the outcome that that effort
generates,
the harder it is to draw that line, and
the more that you're going to fight with
it. Uh the more difficult it's going to
be, the less uh motivating it's going to
be cuz the feedback loop is not there so
quickly.
But uh I think this is huge, and I I
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[music]
Uh watch the full episode here.