How Valuable Were Your Last 40 Minutes?
A simple test of purposeful productivity, based on your own definition of success.
New! I wanted to make something special for paid subscribers, while still keeping most of the newsletters free for everyone:
All paid subscribers (any level) will have unlimited access to a set of resources, including audio reflections, ADHD cheat sheets, playlists, and more. Immediately upon joining, you should receive an access link via email. (If you’re already a paid subscriber, check your inbox.)
I’ll be adding to these resources as the year goes on, so let me know if there’s something in particular you’d like to see more of. Alright, on with today’s post…
The Goal: Do More of What Matters
When I started this newsletter, I noted that it would be about mental health and purposeful productivity—but I haven’t said much about the second topic yet.
In the origins story post, I explained how I’d felt let down by traditional time management and “getting things done” methods. This is true—but it could also be misunderstood as my rejecting everything about productivity in general.
That’s not the case at all!
I don’t believe the answer to feeling overwhelmed and anxious is merely to opt-out and do less … it’s to do more of what matters.
Some part of that process comes with acceptance: the understanding that we simply cannot do ALL of what we want. Still, as much as possible, we want to prioritize and be effective.
And while we all have different priorities and values, I’m guessing that on some level, you want to do more of what matters, too.
So let’s make it really practical…
The Quick Test: How Did You Spend Your Last 40 Minutes?
Here’s an instant, simple test of how you’re doing: ask yourself, at any given part of the day, how valuable were your last forty minutes?
There’s nothing complicated about this exercise. You literally just pause what you’re doing and ask if the past block of time has been useful, productive, or interesting.
Did you learn something?
Did you help someone?
Did you have fun?
Did you make progress toward one of your goals?
If you can answer yes to any of those questions, great—keep doing more of that.
If no, an adjustment might be needed. And if you can’t remember what you’ve been doing for the past forty minutes, the answer to those questions is probably no.
Oh, one key point: YOU decide what matters. YOU choose what “valuable” means. That way, you aren’t measuring yourself by anyone’s standard other than your own.
Once you determine what success looks like, now you have a quick way to get there—forty minutes at a time.
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Conversation Starters
How did you spend the last 40 minutes? (If it’s early in the morning, think about a time period from yesterday.)
What do you do to spend more time on things that matter to you?
Do you have “time blindness”? (We’ll talk about this much more in a future post.)
Alright, who needs another cup of coffee?
Haha, I feel called out. ;) (J/k)
In the last 40 minutes before reading this newsletter, I spent some time with family as they woke up for the day, and then played a video game. That being said, I think that's a valuable way to spend my time, because it aligns with my plans for the day.
My goal this year is to treat productivity more as "routines" than as "meeting deadlines." Instead of trying to set productivity goals for each week, I try to make sure that every day, I go through the same routine of working toward various "big picture" goals. Some weeks I get more done and some weeks less... But every week there's progress, and I think that's more important than meeting arbitrary self-assigned deadlines. (There's a place for that, for sure, but this isn't the season of my life where that's helpful.)
One thing I'm finding particularly useful is to set "tentpole" activities, rather than trying to rigorously schedule every minute of every day. This leads to a certain flexibility, while still ensuring that I get through everything I intended to do in the day. Today, I got through my business-related activities a little earlier than usual, so I had some time to fill. If I were tired, I'd take a nap. If I were inspired, I'd add another session of working on my novel. Today, I felt like I could use some "goof off" time, so I did that, and now I'm writing this comment. :)
Since my next "tentpole" is at 10am, I don't have to worry about getting sucked into comment reading/writing land. I don't have to worry about feeling like the time was wasted, but I still have some freedom and flexibility to work within the ebb and flow of my physical and mental energy.
So far in January, I've finished 4.5 chapters on my novel, and I expect to finish another before the end of the month. That's more than I've done in the last two years combined, so this system seems to be working for me!
I woke up feeling anxious, way behind, overloaded with things I want to do but also things on the schedule I have to do (not that that those scheduled things are bad), and because of that, I was down on myself. There’s this specific question that’s been lingering for weeks. There’s so many answers. And I just key going back and forth on which one to choose.
I decided I was just gonna take a recovery day. I wasn’t gonna focus on anything except what was on the calendar (this is therapy and a reading group, good stuff). This then freed up my morning, so I went to a cafe to get a breakfast burrito and a cortado. And would you know it... in the hour, I’ve been here, I’ve answered the question and actually gotten really excited about the next steps!
I find, sometimes, you have to first give yourself the freedom and then in the freedom you decide to “work.”