Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Trap of Toxic Productivity Have you ever felt uneasy sitting on the couch doing nothing? You’re not alone. Many of us have absorbed the idea that every moment must be productive. A healthy focus on productivity can help us prioritize what matters most in our lives. However, an unhealthy or excessive focus on productivity …
Reading Time: 3 minutesYou’ll Never Finish It All—and That’s Okay Our culture prioritizes productivity and life hacks, allowing us to make every possible minute productive. We work to squeeze results out of every minute. However, as Oliver Burkeman points out in his book, 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, we are, in fact, finite human beings. No matter …
Reading Time: 5 minutesA Role I Valued, but at Too High a Cost Last Spring and Summer, I was a volunteer ranger at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site near Badlands National Park in South Dakota. In the Fall, I volunteered to work part-time as an NPS ranger. We were short-staffed, and I wanted to experience life as …
Reading Time: 4 minutesYou Are Not What You Produce Many productivity nerds start the day feeling like they owe a productivity debt to the universe. They feel like they have to prove how much they can get done in the day to prove their worth as human beings. Many of us focus on our task managers, which contain …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe False Promise of Getting Everything Done We typically think the goal of time management is to ensure we finish all our important work. That’s what systems like Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen and most other productivity systems are all about. We think that if we manage our time …
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Myth of the Universal Productivity App It’s not unusual for us productivity nerds to hear about a highly rated or recommended productivity app or system and assume it will work great for us. We think that because it worked well for the designer or the person recommending it, it will produce the same results …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Appeal of Productivity Systems—and Their Trap Many productivity enthusiasts start with good intentions—trying to get more done—but end up obsessing over the perfect system instead of actually doing the work. It’s easy to become enamored with apps and systems. It appeals to our nerdy, organizational side as introverts. Productivity nerds start seeing the goal …
Reading Time: 3 minutesMy Gut Reaction to the ‘Flywheel’ Buzzword I’ve noticed that every time I run across the term ‘flywheel’ in productivity or creativity circles, I have an immediate negative gut reaction. When I hear this term, I can’t help but picture a housefly sitting on a mechanical wheel in a machine. I keep encountering terms like …
Reading Time: 5 minutesDoes Your Productivity System Control You? Productivity systems can help us be more organized and complete the work we need to do. However, for many people, a too-rigid productivity system can lead to a sense of productivity enslavement. Instead of directing your own work, you feel like a slave working for a demanding master. Using …
Reading Time: 6 minutesAs indicated in the title, this is Part 2 of a two-part series. If you haven’t already read Part 1, I encourage you to take a few minutes and do so now. Part 2 won’t be as meaningful if you haven’t read Part 1. The Freedom of Imperfection When you realize there is no perfect …