What Productivity Means to Me...and What it Doesn’t Mean
I talk about productivity a lot, but I thought it might be time to break down what productivity means to me and, more importantly, what it doesn’t mean.
How I Define Productivity
Productivity, to me, is a set of habits and routines that maximize the amount of free time in my schedule to work toward my goals of getting my novel published. It’s one part crossing things off lists (I love a good list) and one part investing in routines and systems that eliminate a lot of the tasks that might be top-of-mind when you think about productivity.
There’s a straight line relationship between productivity and task labor; being productive is often simplified as doing more of a thing. Reading more emails. Writing more words in a day. Completing more assignments. Etc.
These low-level tasks can be quite productive to cross off the list. They give you that dopamine hit of getting stuff done. But they’re also disruptive to the creative work that I center as much as possible, or to what Cal Newport terms deep work, the sort of distraction-free work that is essential to good writing, whether it’s a chapter of a novel or a reported feature. So as much as possible, I push this low-level work to the margins of my day so it doesn’t interfere.
How I Stay Productive
I batch tasks so that, for example, there’s one day a week when I do all my invoicing or one day a week when I send essays out to lit mags. Tasks that need to be handled more regularly (like email) have a daily container. I’m available, but in a time-bound way.
By optimizing my work using these routines, I’m able to concentrate on what matters most to me knowing that all the routine tasks will get done in due time. Because I’m able to spend time on what I love daily, I can give my client work my full focus when I’m completing a commissioned piece. They get my focused attention and quality output, rather than half-assed work completed while I was mentally checked out wishing I were doing something else, or nursing a clock to make a bogus rate “worth it” to me.
I always strive to spend less time on the things that don’t really matter: less time on social media, less time in my inbox, less time skimming news out of the need to always be in the know. Less isn’t none; I listen to NPR in the morning, have my daily email routine, and still read the news, but not obsessively.
TLDR: What do all these routines have to do with productivity?
They free up major reserves of mental energy because I’m not constantly task switching (or multitasking) in the day.
I’m not trying to redirect my attention from social media to the task at hand. I’m not having that FOMO writing experience of beating myself up for not writing today or not writing enough or whatever...because writers are so often beating themselves up for what they did or did not accomplish.
By reducing or avoiding the shallow work tasks, I’ve been able to grow the time I spend on the more meaningful, soul-fulfilling creative tasks while still retaining happy clients. Generally I feel good and I don’t have doubts about what is the best use of my time.
What would it take to redefine productivity for you so that it felt value-aligned and life-affirming?
Here are some prompts to think about:
What do I need more of in my life and what obstacles are in my way?
What activities feel like a time sink or an energetic drain? Are these necessary to complete?
What time of the day am I most alert? Most relaxed?
What is most important to do, thus should be done with I have the most energy or time?
What are the low-level, but necessary tasks I can do when I am tired or need a break? Can these be batched together?
What steps can I take to reduce distractions?
What I read and loved this month:
Electric Literature: Canceling My Book Deal was the Best Career Move I’ve Ever Made: Sound advice from Lilly Dancyger on when a book deal is not the right book deal and how to believe in your story enough to walk away. I had to do this once! It was scary and it’s still scary, because now I’m trying to sell the book that could’ve been out there, but in my heart I knew my book was more than that other partner believed it could be, and here’s hoping someone agrees. Anyway, read the piece in case you need it, and even if you think you don’t.
My latest piece:
HuffPost: Sick Of Ads For Period Panties And Baby Gear, I Changed My Gender. Intentionally clickbaity title for an essay on gender norms, gender nonconformity, and what we all lose with toxic advertising.
Substack update:
Final update on the am-I-leaving-Substack question. I’ll be joining the Buttondown train, because transparency is refreshing.
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