Get things done. Be productive. Stop procrastinating. Get a handle on this ADD. Work, work, work.
I make lists and then don’t use them. I forget things if I don’t write them down. I’ve read books, watched tutorials, downloaded software, signed up for website services only never to use them consistently. Why?
What is it that I can’t get it together and love the 40+ hour work week? Could the root of this issue simply be that I procrastinate on things that I simply don’t want to do? So why is it that I continually strive to put myself into a mode that I’m clearly not cut out for?
Over at Zen Habits, a guest post from Clay Collins really nails it:
The direct route to productivity is being passionate about what you do. This observation, however, is largely an academic point that doesn’t do much to help the problem. Very few people hear that passion will make them productive and then-out of a dedication to productivity-immediately proceed to follow their dreams and become more productive. So, instead of talking about how passion will make you more productive, I’d like to re-frame the conversation by saying this: unwanted tasks are the the #1 cause of your productivity problems.
If you only did things you wanted to do, you’d probably be the most productive person in the world.
This is something that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately. I have all this guilt wrapped around productivity (or rather, the lack there of). When I get into a “zone”, not only do I get a lot done and very well, I’m happy. It’s not that I don’t like work. I love to create things. I like work. But it must be work that I have some connection too. For example, right now, instead of doing an audit of how a particular feature works on a specific website (what I’m supposed to be doing) I’m writing in this blog. Which one am I more interested in, I wonder?
Well, I’m trying something new. Living my day, moment by moment and analyzing what I am doing and why. Making conscious choices. Many people have things they’ve “got to do”. Well, why is that? “Because I don’t have a choice.” is something I often hear. I hear this from myself as well. We all have choices. And those choices have consequences. So is the statement not, “because I don’t have a choice” but rather “because I don’t want to live with the consequences?” Or “because I’m afraid of the consequences if I don’t do X?”
So I’m challenging myself. And I’m challenging you. Do everything intentionally. Make choices. Live in the moment of that choice, don’t walk down the street sipping on your coffee talking on your phone and thinking about yet another thing. What are your surroundings like? Who is it that I’m talking too? What are they saying? How does that coffee taste? Pay attention to your life. Make your best effort to enjoy experience. Because no one really knows what happens when it’s over.
