In a world with so much advice about productivity, why do most leaders still struggle with feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and overcommitted?
It’s a fair question.
The answer is complex, but part of it has to do with the fact that not all advice is good advice.
Perhaps you absorbed some of it.
After I burned out by living and leading at an unsustainable pace, I spent a decade and a half sorting through productivity advice. Not all of it is great.
I found a system that works astonishingly well, but getting there involves getting rid of some unhelpful ideas.
Here are five pieces of the worst advice you hear about productivity. Some of these are nuanced, but in the end, they’ll still let you down.In a world with so much advice about productivity, why do most leaders still struggle with feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and overcommitted? CLICK TO TWEET
1. Eat the Frog: Do the Hardest Thing First
Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s significant or produces results.
Just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s significant or produces results.
The idea is that you should do the hardest/worst thing on your to-do list first. As in: “Eat the frog before breakfast, and the rest of your day will be easier.”
That can be good advice if you’re a procrastinator, or you’ve got an item on your to-do list you’ve been dreading, or if you just can’t get past the psychological block associated with a goal you haven’t gotten started on.
But as a regular, daily practice? Nope. Not a good idea.
Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s significant or produces results.Just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it’s significant or produces results.CLICK TO TWEET
Instead, a much better practice is to do your most important work first, not your hardest work. That’s doubly true if you’re a morning person. (If you’re not a morning person, do the most important work in your Green Zone, a concept I explain here.)
So what counts as important work?
One filter I’ve found extremely helpful is to evaluate the long-term potential of the work you’re doing.
Social media posts, for example, typically have an impact that lasts for minutes or (if you’re lucky) an hour. Do you need to post? Sure. But don’t use your best hours to do it (unless that’s your job).
Working on a book in your prime hours has more potential for impact than working on a blog post.
Similarly, long-term planning requires deep thought and reflection. Using your prime hours to do it is a fantastic use of your best energy and focus.
Are any of these inherently ‘frogs’? Not at all. You might enjoy them. And they matter a lot.
Working on your most important work in your prime hours will result in a much higher return on investment than working on something difficult.Working on your most important work in your prime hours will result in a much higher return on investment than working on something difficult.CLICK TO TWEET
2. Get Up at 5 a.m. to Crush Your Goals
For most leaders, especially creative leaders, showing up exhausted to work doesn’t work.
So again, this can be helpful advice. Sleeping till noon probably isn’t going to get you where you want to go.
I’m a big fan of early mornings, and I’ve used rising early to produce great results in my life and leadership. So have tens of thousands of other leaders.
But is unfailingly getting up early always the best strategy?
I don’t think so.
Why is that?
Well, for starters, a rested you is a better you. And if getting up at 4 or 5 a.m. means you’re not getting enough sleep, you’ll drag yourself through the day.A rested you is a better you.CLICK TO TWEET
For some jobs, that can work. If you’re doing a repeated task (say, for example, waiting tables at a restaurant), you can get through the day with your tank half full.
But for most leaders, especially creative leaders, showing up exhausted to work doesn’t work because you work almost exclusively with your brain. And an exhausted brain doesn’t produce much.
If you’re like me and your work requires you to write, lead teams and create something out of nothing, a sharp mind is the greatest asset you can bring to a job.
Fatigue will not only produce a brain fog that makes your work difficult, it will also make you irritable and super easy to frustrate. All of that is a recipe for really poor work.
While getting to be early and rising early to work is optimal when for whatever reason, you get out of routine, catching an extra 30 to 90 minutes of sleep might be exactly what you need to do.
Showing up rested, refreshed, and ready to go beats showing up early, exhausted, and unable to produce your best work.
The flexible work hours many leaders now enjoy make showing up with a full tank easier than ever.
I’ll always love my early mornings, but I like bringing my best even better.But for most leaders, especially creative leaders, showing up exhausted to work doesn’t work because you work almost exclusively with your brain. And an exhausted brain doesn’t produce much. CLICK TO TWEET
