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Being productive is really a battle. Itās the worst kind of battle: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591846358/ryanholnet-20" color="blue">a battle against yourself</a>.
When most people talk about productivity they miss the point. They talk about external distractions and minimizing those influences. They encourage all sorts of external productivity tools and services. Thatās all great but it sort of shifts the blame from where it rightly lies: on us, on our tendencies.
The author Steven Pressfield calls thisĀ <a target="_blank" href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholiday/2012/06/07/10-steps-for-turning-pro-from-the-warrior-artist-steven-pressfield/" color="blue">the Resistance</a>. When we sit down to do any important project whether itās writing a book or a business plan, we face Resistance. The bigger the project, the more vulnerable or creative it forces us to be, the stronger the resistance.
Weāre not productive because of the Resistance. In other words, productivity is not a matter of organization or distractions, it is primarily a matter of dealing with and redirecting the Resistance.
Iāll give you an example. I am working on a book proposal right now that requires me to examine some uncomfortable stuff. I also donāt totally have a handle on the concept as a whole, which basically means that every second I work on it is excruciating and difficult.
This is the reason I seek the relief of distractions. Itās definitely not because Iām unorganized. So I pop open Facebook, I come up with reasons to call people, I go around and botherĀ <a target="_blank" href="http://betabeat.com/2014/01/i-own-a-goat-some-animals-and-a-mini-farm-give-a-tech-guy-some-peace/" color="blue">my animals</a>. I say, āHey, letās go out to breakfast, Iāll work there,ā even though I know that I wonāt.
Now, I could eliminate those particular problems or throw away my car keys, but like any addict Iād just find a new one. Youād find me doing whatever the productivity-equivalent of drinking rubbing alcohol is.Ā <i>Anything</i>Ā to take the edge off.
God knows how much energy isĀ <a target="_blank" href="http://visual.ly/how-publish-your-book" color="blue">wasted by creative people this way</a>. Itās a nervous energy, a pain-driven energy that must be channeled and sloughed off. White knuckling it? Well, thatās not exactly a solution.
IāmĀ <a target="_blank" href="https://ryanholiday.net/the-flow/" color="blue">reminded of a quote</a>Ā from the dog trainer Cesar Millan, āNever work against Mother Nature. You only succeed when you work with her.ā But how do you workĀ <i>with</i>Ā something that tries to distract and undermine what youāve set out to do?
The key is to find some way to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYl7hMbh2Cg" color="blue">harness and redirect that negative energy</a>.
When I find myself looking for an escapeāI have a list of activities I can do that are productive ways to channel the resistance:
-I will take notes on a book I read for myĀ <a target="_blank" href="https://ryanholiday.net/how-and-why-to-keep-a-commonplace-book/" color="blue">commonplace book</a>.
-I will go through my starred emails in my inbox (emails that didnāt immediately require a response which Iāve marked from the last 7 days or so).
-I will cross the business items off my to do list (reviewĀ <a target="_blank" href="http://www.15five.com/" color="blue">15five</a>Ā reports, edit documents or research my team did, etc).
They are little pieces of big, never-ending projects that I can always make a little contribution to. They are always thereāno matter what else I happen to be working on. This means I can always turn to them and use them as a productive excuse.
As Jerry Seinfeld put it, you want to find the pain youāre comfortable with. Thatās the secret. Those are all activities I hate, but can tolerate. It puts me right between the horns of a dilemma. Work, or different workāand <a target="_blank" href="http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/05/01/finding-the-opportunity-inside-the-obstacle/" color="blue">either one I choose moves me forward</a>.
This is also whereĀ <a target="_blank" href="http://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2013/10/you-can-be-good-at-more-than-one-thing/" color="blue">being good at more than one thing</a>Ā can help you. If all you do is write, then the opposite isĀ <i>not</i>-writing. But if you write and consult, well you can run from writing into the arms of consulting or vice versa.
(On a side note, I think this is why creative people spend a lot of time thinking/producing work on being creative. Itās a way toĀ <i>work</i>Ā and practice their craft even though deep down they know theyāre putting off a harder version of it.)
The real benefit of those tasks isnāt just setting up some sort of Sophieās choice. Itās that when I put off writing or thinking about something and cross those other items off the list, I start to accumulate some momentum. When I switch tracks again, that momentum carries over. It makes it easier to get through <a target="_blank" href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232848" color="blue">whatever Resistance was holding me back</a>.
So thatās my productivity secret. Itās not about systems. Itās not about technologyāyou donāt need Evernote or 37Signals to do it.