Earlier today I was on a call with a group of people who enrolled in one of my live programs. We had a fascinating discussion about people who seem to have it all together. And in particular about people who adhere to rigid weekly schedules that make it seem like they have time for absolutely everything. Here’s one example: (And it is just an example. It doesn’t matter whose schedule this is. This person actually has some great ideas.) What matters is that this is productivity porn. When you look at this, you might go, “ooh, I want that!” I try to make my productivity apps look pretty too. Nothing wrong with that. But when you see this, you might think, “if only I could be disciplined enough to structure my week like that, I would finally have time for everything!” And I hate to break it to you: you wouldn’t. There will always be more things worth doing than you’ll have time for. But that’s not even my main point here. While you can see the pretty calendar of someone who religiously time blocks, you won’t see them stopping mid-task, right when they’re in the zone, because their arbitrary 2-hour block is over. You won’t see them, a week later, struggling to remember where they had left off. You won’t see the cost of switching context all the time. And you also won’t see what’s messy about their life, anyway. Most of our lives are pretty messy, behind the curtain. I have nothing against time blocking. It’s just an example. But I want to stress that techniques that might seem appealing and that appear to work for others might not work for you. And if they don’t, that’s not a failure on your part. For example, time blocking has never worked for me. I doubt it ever will. Once I get going on a task, I like to ride the momentum until it dissipates. Anyone who does any kind of creative work should understand. So beware of productivity porn. When you see a technique (or an app) that you think will instantly fix all of your problems, be very skeptical. Of course there are smart techniques you can learn and smart systems you can build. And you should have a personal productivity system. But there is no one silver bullet. Building your system will take trial and error. Therefore, it will also take time. It is absolutely worth it, though. |
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One of my favorite things to do is to say, “no”. No, I won’t embark on that new project right now. (I have too many unfinished projects already.) No, I’d rather not help out with that volunteer initiative you’ve started. (I’ve overcommitted myself and don’t want to make it worse.) No, this week is not great for meeting for lunch. (I need as much focus time as I can get to ship this new product.) That last one can be tricky. Because people like to feel special. When you say, “this week isn’t...
I’m in Bali right now, coworking with a good friend of mine. About two years ago, he and I were also both here on the island. In fact, that’s when we met. I remember our first conversation well. He was extolling the virtues of cryptocurrency and I was, to put it mildly, skeptical. To me, crypto felt like a hype—nothing more. In the months after, we often talked about a different hype: AI tools, and in particular ChatGPT. I was initially quite skeptical about those, too. I thought most AI...
This might be uncomfortable. But let’s take a minute to ask: What are you not getting around to? It might be the most common productivity struggle: not having time for things you consider to be really important. When I work with people 1:1 or in a group setting, they often tell me some version of this story. They got a new job and it’s a very busy one—and now they haven’t worked out in half a year. Somehow their weekly schedule just filled up over time—and now they haven’t played their...