Are you, too, doing the productivity rain dance without realizing it?

This post is inspired by something I saw from Chris Williamson on X. Feel free to read it all yourself but the take home message, for me at least, was that if we are not careful we can convince ourselves we’re being productive while in reality being quite off the mark.

He asks himself, “What do I do that I don’t think is productive but actually is?”

And conversely, “What do I think is productive but isn’t?”

After going back and carefully assessing all of the daily activities, how they’re perceived in his head, and trying to link them to a substantive output - he had a realization…

I can only imagine the rest of us are also convinced that we are positive things in good faith that they inevitably lead to some sort of benefit, at some point in the future…we hope? Although at a second glance, sitting at a laptop with the intention to draft something, and then watching YouTube for 60minutes …probably not going to move the needle. Is it at LEAST the optics of looking busy? Always at the computer. Always reading an email or an article. Mowing the lawn? Airpods in with a podcast. This is all productive, isn’t it?

Only you can be the arbiter of that.

I find this sort of brief self-evaluation, when done with brutal honesty, can be invaluable in helping to elucidate these inefficiencies that creep into our lives over time. Because much like Chris alluded to, before we know it, we are performing rituals of rituals for the sake of rituals. Never stopping to wonder if there is a tangible output to justify all of the time and energy.

So today I implore you, whether its 5 minutes or 50 minutes, take some time to evaluate your daily habits, the ones meant to help you level up over time, and give them an earnest shakedown. Do they serve you and your mission? Or should they be tossed into the pseudo-productivity trash bin where they belong?

Thirty minutes building something with the kids is not meant to be conflated with thirty minutes scrolling on Reddit…

The goal is to ensure that everything in place, that is done daily over long periods of time, serves a purpose and has some sort of intentionality behind it.

Remember, doing a daily rain dance, as fun as it may be, is still NOT doing the THING. So if all those cold plunges, espresso shots, mindfulness sessions, and deep work time blocks don’t actually amount to an increase in quantifiable OUTPUT - it’s time for some uncomfortable discussions.

Thanks for reading this episode of Daily Navigations!

Best,

Dave @ The Modern Compass.