Is Productivity a Trap?
OK - so lately I’ve been obsessing over productivity.
I came across this post a couple weeks ago and couldn’t stop thinking about this quote.
I think it resonated with me because I often believe I’m never doing enough.
And let me tell you . . . I do stuff ALL DAY.
I work hard.
I just packed up a whole house and then unpacked a whole house during our big recent move.
I go to in person meetings, Zooms, answer phone calls - all stuff I’m sure y’all do too - and then, at the end of the day, I had no idea where the time went or what I got done.
I work for myself now - in digital marketing and strategy consulting. And, while my time is my own, I put a lot more pressure on myself to define every hour and feel like it was “worth it” in my day.
And - at my worst - I find myself rushing through work that I enjoy because if I don’t take time to stop and smell the flowers, I can get a lot more done.
It’s exhausting.
In their amazing book, Burnout, Emily & Amelia Nagoski define burnout as the feeling that “you are doing too much and it’s not enough.”
Even if I’m not burned out now? I’m well on my way.
So I started trying the 3-3-3 method Ben talks about in that Instagram video (shoutout to my PAL group who kept me accountable while I was giving it a whirl!)
The idea is that you focus your day with:
✨ 3 short tasks
✨ 3 maintenance tasks
✨ 3 hours on your most important project
Short tasks can be things like, “Schedule an Instagram post" or “Write an agenda for that meeting.”
Maintenance tasks are things like “Answer emails for one hour” or “Schedule my dentist appointment” (YES! Personal things count because they are things you have to do!)
And the three hours? This is where the magic happens.
Spending three hours on your most important project forces you to define what that is every day (it can change) and forces you to commit big blocks of times to getting it done. That commitment really moves the needle.
I tried the experiment for two weeks in my PAL group - making my weekly commitment to establishing my 3-3-3 for 3 days of the week.
Here’s what I learned.
Clarifying What’s Important
MANNNNNN I thought I knew what my priorities were until I was forced to define them every day. But it was TOUGH distilling my giant to-do list into these little categories.
At first I didn’t think it would work for me because I had “too much to do.” But after the first couple days - it made me realize that spending a little time organizing / prioritizing my list gave me a clearer head and more energized way to approach the day.
Moving Towards Action
Making the list was hard at first but it was ACTION. It helped overcome the overwhelm of “too much to do.”
I started making the list in the morning first thing - but that took up a lot of precious brain power while my brain is at its best. So I switched to doing it as my last task each day and it served as a nice little wrap up, mental shift and had me ready to hit the ground running each morning.
Taking a Chill Pill
I’m an overachieving, perfectionist, anxious millennial and sometimes it feels like nothing is ever enough. PHEW. Good to get that off my chest.
Defining what a productive day looks like TO ME takes away about 80% of those feelings. I’m no longer up against some invisible clock, ticking away the hours where I’m not maximizing enough.
This gave me back the power
I’m never here to say that one thing will work for everyone - but I do believe we all need to get a bite of that chill pill. And rejecting the societal, capitalist idea of productivity is a great place to start.
No matter how you do it - figure out a way to define what a meaningful day looks like to you. And if you need to track something? Track THAT.
My mental health at work has never been better than when I’m the one telling myself what makes a work day a GOOD day.
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