Years ago, I was fully hooked to the world of productivity. At the time, I was getting up at the crack of dawn to get as much done. I used time blocking to try to maximise every hour of my day. Working a full-time job, then spending 4–5 hours outside the job working on various side projects. I would cut out any activity that I deemed “unproductive”. And when something unexpected came along that interrupted my time block, it caused anxiety.
Only recently did I realise that this productivity mindset was toxic. Yes, it took me a pandemic and also burning out to realise that toxic productivity exists. Gaslighting myself is my forte. To this day, I’m still battling with the feeling of not doing enough. That there aren’t enough hours in the day to be “productive”.
To have a healthier mindset, I needed a new “productivity” framework. I wanted a framework that would help me prioritise what to do outside my 9-5 job. Something that would let me roll with the punches when the unexpected came up. And would help me feel good about what I chose to spend time on. So I present to you my “slow productivity” framework.
When I’m trying to decide what to do. I have to answer three questions:
- Will I have fun?
- Will I learn something?
- Will I regret it if I didn’t do it?
If I say yes to any one of these questions, I should do the thing and not feel guilty about doing it. Some activities are more worth doing than others, I can tell if it’s a yes to multiple questions. But if it’s a no to all questions, then I won’t do the activity.
Here’s an example of how I applied the framework this morning.
I woke up feeling refreshed, which rarely happens. I wanted to immediately start working on a side project before work. It’s something that I would have fun with and learn something. Ticking two of the three questions. This task is something that I would consider productive.
Now I sit at my desk, turn on my laptop, and get ready to code. But my cat jumps up on my table and wanted pets. She was far too cute, and demanding, to ignore. There went my productive morning time. In the past, I would’ve been annoyed and felt guilty that I was doing something unproductive. But today, I ran through the three questions. Am I having fun? Yes. Will I regret it if I didn’t do it? 100% yes. Always pet the cat if it offers.
Sometimes unexpected events happen that interrupt your productive task. With this framework, I feel less anxiety and guilt around these events. It might not work for everyone, but I hope it helps you feel better about doing the “unproductive” activities.