Melissa Gratias
I enjoy participating in the r/productivity community on Reddit. Each month, I will post some Q&As I've contributed to for the benefit of the Crazy Productive community. If you are on Reddit, be sure to let me know you are there!
Friday, January 24, 2025
DON'T: Invent fake deadlines. You are not so easily fooled.
DO: Give every task on your to-do list a progress date (the uncreative name for the date on which you want a Future You to make progress). A lengthy task list is thus broken up into daily action lists.
DON'T: Be cruel to Future You. Procrastination is mean to Future You.
DO: Envision Future You with love, respect, and desire for their success. Think of how Today You can celebrate and love Future You. What gifts can Today You give Future You?
DON'T: Think too much. Decisions are hard.
DO: One small thing. Actions are contagious.
My very first (and best) boss advised me to "Strive every day to work yourself out of a job." I thought she had lost her mind when I first heard this come out of her mouth. What she meant was that I should always try to improve processes, share my knowledge, and do everything possible NOT to be indispensable in my current position. Why? Because that’s not where I planned to spend the rest of my career.
Snuggling into a job and making it so the place cannot run without you renders it almost impossible to get promoted. And it makes you vulnerable to job obsolescence as technology (hello AI!) improves.
Streamlining your job and developing those around you make you indispensable for positions above you.
Circadian rhythms are tricky. I am assuming that you do not have the flexibility to look for a job (or time zone, or flex schedule) that fits better with your hours of peak productivity. In the absence of that, you are essentially working while tired. Here are my thoughts on how to manage that challenging state:
First, you are fired from the job of remembering stuff. Your tired brain will fail at this task every time. Keep a detailed daily task list so that you don’t have to do much thinking about “What should I do next?”
Second, work in 25 to 30-minute increments (i.e., the Pomodoro method) punctuated by 5-minute brain breaks that relax your frontal lobe. Always, always, always use a timer.
Third, consider what you are going to do to maximize/enjoy your peak productivity time. Maybe a side hustle? Maybe a hobby? Reward yourself for working while tired by doing something that you can look forward to.
Are you feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or just plain bored at work?
You can regain (or just gain!) your passion for your work, maximize your impact, AND have a rich and fulfilling life.
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