If you’re frustrated by the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day, the problem isn’t a lack of time. You’re not managing your mind efficiently. In his book Jedi Techniques, Maxim Dorofeev explains how our thinking works and how understanding it can help us use our brain’s resources more effectively.
What is Mental Fuel?
Anyone engaged in intellectual work is familiar with fluctuations in productivity. Sometimes, you make no progress for days, and then suddenly, a complex project is completed in just a few hours.
We often think we lack time, when in reality, we are limited by mental fuel.
Maxim Dorofeev, Jedi Techniques
Dorofeev defines mental fuel as a finite reserve of mental energy that helps us stay rational and focused. When it runs out, we become impulsive and start procrastinating—staring out the window, scrolling through cat videos on social media, etc.
How is This Related to Jedi Techniques?
Jedi Techniques is a collection of tested methods that help conserve mental fuel.
Most of this resource is wasted without us even noticing. But the consequences are obvious: struggling to stay productive throughout the workday, knowing what needs to be done but not knowing how to start, feeling exhausted and ineffective.
Dorofeev studied literature on personal productivity and scientific research on thinking and memory. These insights helped him develop a system that saved him from burnout.
Essentially, it combines well-known productivity methods:
- GTD (Getting Things Done) by David Allen
- MYN (Master Your Now) by Michael Linenberger
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown
- Time Management by Gleb Arkhangelsky
However, the focus is on practice, making them accessible and providing detailed implementation instructions.
What Should You Do?
Conserve mental fuel and use it when it matters most—especially in unclear situations.
Golden rule: In any unclear situation—think.
Of course, there are too many situations where thinking is required, and mental fuel may not be enough. But you can help your brain by recognizing that it prefers simplicity and clarity.
For example, if you set a vague goal like “Complete an important project,” your brain will resist. Instead, it will drift toward simpler, more familiar tasks (yes, cat videos and entertainment).
But if you break it down into smaller steps—“Make a project plan,” “Sketch a draft,” “Outline the first slide of the presentation”—your brain will engage, and the project will get done in manageable steps.
This is just one of many techniques for conserving mental fuel. The book Jedi Techniques covers more than a dozen similar strategies.
Key Techniques for Conserving Mental Resources
Jedi techniques are practical strategies to help you conserve mental fuel and handle daily tasks more effectively. Here are some essential habits for boosting productivity:
- Regularly Recharge
- Constantly pushing yourself to the limit leads to burnout.
- Nassim Taleb’s Antifragility concept: humans improve under stress but only if they have time to recover.
- Growth happens during rest, not strain—after work, take time to relax.
- Clear Your Inboxes
- Organize your notebooks, emails, browser tabs, and documents.
- Instead of immediately acting on everything, first process your inputs—sort out what’s important and discard the rest.
- Formulate Tasks Correctly
- The Zeigarnik Effect explains why unfinished tasks drain mental fuel.
- Reduce stress by breaking big tasks into small, actionable steps.
- Example: Instead of writing “Meeting on Monday,” clarify it as:
- “Add meeting to calendar with a reminder.”
- “Meet with the agency representative at 4 PM.”
- “Discuss concerns about the first campaign draft.”
- Use External Storage for Your Mind
- Maintain a structured backup of your thoughts, tasks, and commitments.
- A good system includes:
- Task List: Simple, regularly reviewed list of all tasks.
- Project List: Tracks ongoing major tasks.
- Calendar: Essential for scheduling, especially if you have frequent meetings.
- Reference System: Stores useful information like books to read, important links, or bills.
- Review Your System Regularly
- Weekly review: Spend 5 minutes tidying up your task list.
- Daily review: At the end of the day, check completed and pending tasks.
- Spontaneous review: When you have free time but aren’t ready for deep work, clean up your lists.
- Minimize Distractions
- Switching tasks burns mental fuel. The biggest distraction? Your smartphone.
- Disable unnecessary notifications.
- Process messages asynchronously—read and respond when you’re ready, not immediately.
- The “Closet – Balcony – Storage Shed” Method
- Ideas are like objects: some are useful now, some later, and some maybe someday.
- Organize ideas into three categories:
- Closet: Frequently used ideas—review weekly.
- Balcony: Less urgent ideas—review monthly.
- Storage Shed: Low-priority ideas—review once or twice a year.
Does This Turn You Into a Robot?
Some people worry that strict organization removes creativity. However, Jedi Techniques actually encourage creativity by providing structure.
- You gain confidence knowing nothing important will be forgotten.
- You choose what to work on based on what interests you at the moment.
- Most importantly, you understand the consequences of procrastination—what happens if you ignore an important task and instead get lost in distractions.
How Much Time Does This Take?
Daily reviews (3–5 minutes), weekly reviews (15–20 minutes), and refining task descriptions (10–20 seconds per task) might add up to an hour per week.
But the benefits are clear.
The goal isn’t just time management—after all, everyone has the same 24 hours—but taking care of your mental energy.
If you constantly get distracted, forget commitments, complain about time shortages, or feel guilty about being unproductive—it’s time to switch to the light side of productivity.
Jedi Techniques by Maxim Dorofeev is one of the best books not just for learning about productivity methods but for actually applying them.
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