If you’ve ever been in Lagos, you know the traffic. It’s more than just a commute; it’s a living, breathing entity. It’s the sound of a thousand horns playing a chaotic symphony, the sight of yellow danfos painted with defiant slogans, and the scent of roasted plantain mixing with the city’s heat. It is the ultimate test of patience and a masterclass in organized chaos.
For years, I saw it as nothing more than a daily frustration, a problem to be endured. But recently, stuck on the Eko Bridge, watching the slow crawl of our bus, I had a realization. What if this daily gridlock, this symbol of Nigerian struggle, is actually one of the world’s most effective, if unconventional, productivity seminars?
From Gridlock to Growth: 5 Lessons from Lagos Traffic
What did I do? I paid a little more attention and discovered 5 key productivity lessons.
1. Master the Micro-Move (Patience & Consistent Progress)
The Lagos Reality: Sometimes, you don’t just fly down the Third Mainland Bridge. You move inch by inch. Progress is measured in the small gap the car in front of you finally surrenders. Giving in to road rage is a pointless waste of energy. The only strategy that works is patient, persistent forward movement, however small.
The Productivity Lesson: We often get paralyzed by the sheer size of our goals. We see the entire journey and freeze. Lagos traffic teaches you to forget the destination for a moment and focus only on the next few feet. Big projects are completed through a series of tiny, consistent actions. Instead of being overwhelmed by “write the book,” focus on “write one paragraph.”
“Slow progress is still progress, and it compounds over time, eventually getting you home.”
2. Be Ready to Pivot (Adaptability is Survival)
The Lagos Reality: The road you’ve been crawling on is suddenly, inexplicably blocked. A trailer has broken down, or an impromptu market has spilled onto the street. Your perfectly planned route is now useless. The skilled Lagos driver doesn’t despair; they pivot. Instantly, they’re navigating a labyrinth of side streets and back alleys you never knew existed, adapting to the new reality in real-time.
The Productivity Lesson: Your perfect plan may sometimes hit a roadblock. An unexpected problem will arise, a key assumption will be wrong, or a priority will shift. The key isn’t having an unbreakable plan. It’s developing the mental agility to adapt without losing momentum.
“Being able to pivot your strategy when you hit a roadblock is more valuable than the initial plan itself.”
3. Utilize Every Pocket of Time (The “Go-Slow” Hustle)
The Lagos Reality: A traffic jam, or “go-slow,” is one of the most dynamic marketplaces on earth. From the window of your car, you can buy Gala and La Casera, phone chargers, books, bathroom slippers, and fresh bread. Maybe even a house if you’re up for it. These vendors see stationary cars not as a problem, but as an audience in need. They are masters of turning “dead” time into productive time.
The Productivity Lesson: We all have pockets of “dead” time in our day: waiting for a meeting to start, standing in a bank queue, the 15 minutes before your next appointment. Instead of mindlessly scrolling, use these moments. Answer a quick email. Brainstorm ideas in a notes app. Listen to a chapter of an audiobook. Reclaiming these small pockets of time can add up to hours of productivity each week.
4. Know Your Role (The Driver & Conductor Principle)
The Lagos Reality: Watch a danfo bus navigate the chaos. The driver’s focus is singular: the road. They are meandering through potholes, other buses, and pedestrians. They don’t worry about collecting fares or calling out the next stop. That’s the conductor’s job. It’s a two-person team with clearly defined roles, working in perfect, chaotic harmony to achieve a single goal: get to the destination.
The Productivity Lesson: You cannot do everything yourself. To be truly productive, you must understand your core function and delegate or outsource the rest. Whether it’s collaborating with a teammate, using software to automate a task, or getting help from a mentor, knowing your role allows you to dedicate your full focus and find balance where it matters most. Stop trying to be both the driver and the conductor.
5. Stay in Your Lane (The Power of Undivided Focus)
The Lagos Reality: It’s the ultimate temptation in traffic when you see the lane next to you seems to be moving faster. So you swerve into it, only for it to grind to a halt while your original lane magically starts moving. Frantic lane-switching rarely gets you there faster; it just burns more fuel and increases your stress.
The Productivity Lesson: This is a perfect metaphor for multitasking. Constantly switching between your main project, your email inbox, social media, and a chat window is mental lane-switching. It kills your momentum and drains your cognitive fuel. The most effective way to make progress is to pick a task—a “lane”—and stay in it with undivided focus for a set period.
Find Wisdom in the Wait
The most frustrating parts of our lives are often our greatest teachers. If we can find lessons in focus, adaptability, and resilience in the middle of a Lagos traffic jam, we can find them anywhere.
What unexpected lessons has life in Nigeria taught you about productivity or life in general? Share them in the comments below!
