How to be more productive by doing less
What does da Vinci and Sweden have in common when it comes to productivity? They have both figured out that doing less actually gets you much better results. Sounds counterintuitive, I know, but here’s why you should schedule more time to do absolutely nothing.
What do you do when none of the productivity hacks work?
Have you ever had days where you look down on your to do list and this tsunami of anxiety washes over you? You shoot in all different directions but you get nowhere? You don’t know where to start and the sheer thought of actually doing it leads down into a hole of procrastination.
I have been there so many times and the whole process would normally end with me ordering another productivity book from Amazon or read one of Farnham Street’s blog posts on the best productivity hacks, like this.
None of it did it for me. At least not in the long run. It just fixed my productivity problem temporarily, whilst keeping me in fight or flight mode.
A more controversial way to productivity
So I did this instead. I asked myself: What would happen to my productivity if I did the opposite of what all the productivity experts told me to do?
And that’s how my whitespace blocks in my calendar were born. Time scheduled everyday where I am only allowed to do one thing; absolutely nothing.
In my world, there are a few things that fall into this category:
walks with no electronics
meditation without guidance
laying flat on my back listening to music
sitting and watching the view in nature
The only rule that applies to my whitespace is:
No activity can be an attempt to achieve, learn or complete something.
That means I don’t:
Read
Watch YouTube or listen to a podcast
Learn something new
Overcoming the guilt and fear of laziness was key to unleashing the epiphanies
At first it made me feel guilty and lazy for not being ‘productive’. I had a strong urge to go back and research more productivity hacks.
Until one day, when I had a moment of clarity during one of the walks. My brain had somehow solved a problem I had been battling earlier and I suddenly knew what I needed to do when I got back to my desk. Then the next day I had another idea and it would go on like that. I had created some kind of creative whitespace where my mind was not cornered into action but allowed to roam free. I would return to my desk with a vision and the actions would follow in an effortless way.
By taking more time away from the laptop I returned with excitement and a fresh mind, I was able to solve problems faster, I was calmer, less reactive. The list goes on.
Most of you will not try this because…
…we are living in a society where productivity equals status and success. We are wired to think that if we do more things, faster, we will achieve more. We think that productivity equals the hours we put in. I know for a fact that this is not true.
And if you don’t believe me, believe da Vinci:
“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.”
Leonardo da Vinci
Or see what Sweden manage to achieve by shorten the workdays;
Thirteen years ago, Toyota’s plant based in Gothenburg, Sweden, switched to the model of shorter workdays. Since then, they’ve reported happier employees, decreased turnover rate, and higher profits.
No productivity hack will move the needle if you don’t have space and clarity in your mind of where you going and why. My friend Maria said it so well ‘it’s like biking faster up the hill without changing the gear, it is freakin exhausting and you are actually not getting very far’. The second we change gear and paddle less, the hill feels less steep and more manageable.
The busier we make ourselves the less productive we become.
So by doing less with more intention means you can focus on the 20% that generates 80% of the results.
