Slow Productivity
The value of doing less in a society that expects more
Do Less
A great part of the world is obsessed with productivity. There are videos, articles, books, and guides on how to do more with the time that has been allotted to you. The invitation is to leave distractions behind and focus on cracking the code in your profession. Very few of these viral sources recommend doing less, however. Hustle culture, as others have termed it, encourages people to associate productivity with doing more, cramming more, and “getting to the next level.” It forgets that we are human and promotes mediocre work instead of the quality necessary to make our work satisfying.
As humans, we are aware of the consequences of overworking. Mental or physical health is often sacrificed in the name of “getting stuff done.” Therefore, we ought to safeguard our productivity by doing less. Doing less is not an invitation to laziness, but rather a call to focus on what’s important. Doing more, saying “yes” to your boss all the time, and focusing on the “next level” distracts us from paying attention and directing our work towards the quality to get to such a level.
That is why I started tinkering with a “stop doing list.” It’s the reverse version of a to-do list. After carefully planning my week, I remove one or two activities from my to-do list and choose an action plan for them. If it is an essential task for my work, I delegate them to others who have availability. If it’s a non-essential task, I scrap it altogether and leave it be. The thorough analysis of my tasks has allowed me to see what activities from work can be left behind without sacrificing the outcome of my workplace.
My goal is to remove 2 old tasks for every 1 new task I accept.
Focus on quality
While being a jack of all trades can be helpful in certain situations, the saying does end with “master of none.” Our society not only recompenses quality at a stratospheric level but also recognizes and promotes such endeavors. There is a reason why people prefer the “name brand” to the generic even when they deliver similar results. The question to ponder in our work is: what will it be associated with? If we add more to our plate, we will never finish or at best we will with symptoms of abdominal pain. Thus, it is crucial to focus on delivering quality work at the appropriate time. If we can remove the non-essential tasks and give ourselves ample time to focus on quality work, our results will be appreciated and recognized. Moreover, we will be satisfied that we have done our best.
The turn to quality is hard to achieve. It does take time to master certain aspects of our work. However, here are two suggestions to make it happen:
Take time to read about your expertise.
Try something new in your area of work twice a year.
These two suggestions invite you to learn from others that have achieved quality work and to apply creativity in the workplace. After all, if we don’t try new theories in our work, we are led to be stagnant.
Podcasts
Thank you for reading :)