The Secret Killer of Productivity: Our Minds

We don’t work nearly as much as we think we do.

Sure, we put in the hours. But mostly we think about working. We think about the work we did, and we talk about the work we’d like to do, and we plan out our work for the day or week. But actually work? Very little. Even as I write this, I’d estimate the time actually spent actively putting words to the page is about 10-20% of the time I’ve spent. Add in travel time, meetings, meals, and downtime, and it’s even less.

The rest of the time is spent with ourselves. With our brains and the stories we tell ourselves. Some of us are comfortable with this, most of us are not. We don’t like the stories in our head, so we replace them with other stories. A constant stream of news and articles and TV and God knows what. I believe this is why we still struggle being productive.

Productivity is the most common conversation in business right now. You see hundreds of articles about how to structure your day (wake up early, time-block, etc) or the latest technology (artificial intelligence, bots, calendar apps galore), yet the issue of getting good work done is more pronounced now than ever. I feel it every day. I believe the reason is a human one, though, not technological.  

Here’s where we’ve gone wrong:
We focus primarily on freeing up time to do our work, instead of preparing ourselves to do good work. If we can squeeze out a few extra minutes in the morning, or get a new tool that helps us do something 5% faster, that will help us get more done in a day, right? While this may be true of a production line, we are not machines. We do crazy things like eat an extra cookie because we worked out today, or reward ourselves for a good hour of work with an hour-long break.

The 20% of our time spent actually producing – writing, selling, making, building – is a direct result of the health of the other 80%. We must first improve the stories we tell ourselves. Gain control over our minds, and the output we produce will drastically improve in quality (and most likely in quantity). 

What does this look like?

• It looks like meditating. The steady flow of inputs we allow into our brains (reading, tv, browsing, Facebook, Instagram, email) helps you lose control of your own thoughts. Meditation trains you to take the power back. This is the most important training you can do. Whether you do traditional meditation or your own version of it (running, prayer, lifting weights), do it alone and do it on purpose.
• It looks like a growth mindset. You are not "a procrastinator" or "easily distracted" or an "unproductive person" by nature. No one is. You are simply untrained, with a few bad habits. In the same way a person can go from not being able to read, to reading such beautiful writing as this article, you can learn to be extremely productive.
• It looks like playing. Play pickup basketball on your lunch break. Wrestle with your kids on the floor as much as possible. My most productive day of work – by far – is the one where I leave early to play ultimate frisbee in the park.
• It looks like eating & sleeping well. Nothing sabotages good work like a terrible diet and no sleep. Prioritize these things. It’s not about willpower, it’s about habits. Get into bed early and read or talk to your spouse. Don’t buy terrible food at the grocery store. When I eat well (high fat, low carb, real food) I am always shocked at how little food I actually need, and how freeing it is to not be a slave to constant hunger.

The future of work will demand we put more of ourselves into our work. The punch-in/punch-out jobs will disappear, and we will be left only with the work that is truly human. Gain control of the stories in your head – it's the source of all productivity that matters.