People who run small businesses often run out of time before running out of things to do. So we’re always trying our best to speed things up. But Mike Vardy, founder of Productivist, thinks there’s a better way to be productive than attempting to speed things up.

“Rather than spend time speeding things up for the sake of doing more, take some time to think about whether or not what you are doing is worth you doing it at all. Instead of checking off as many boxes as possible, check the boxes you have on your list and make conscious choices about them.”

–Mike Vardy

Here is a 90-second exercise Mike suggests for helping you “Stop Doing Productive and Start Being Productive”:

  1. After you’re done reading this, stop and do nothing for 30 seconds. It may help to focus on your breath and close your eyes while doing so.
  2. Grab a piece of paper and a pen/pencil and write down everything you think you need to do, ought to do, or want to do. You should time this. Stop once the 30 seconds is up.
  3. Take another 30 seconds to choose one of those things to work on today. Commit to working on it so that you can honestly say you made progress on it before day’s end.

And One More Thing: Don’t be Like Lucy

(via: Productivist)

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