How I Feel Productive when I’m Unproductive

Have you ever had a day that felt productive, but once you look back at the day’s accomplishments, you realize you were unproductive?

I’ve felt that a lot over the past couple of weeks. I have been finishing work, feeling busy, and getting tasks done. Then when I look back, I realize a lot of the work was busy work or meetings. There weren’t meaningful or significant tasks. I push those off and instead end up feeling burnt out or unproductive.

The chart I put together helped me gather what I need to focus on, delegate out, and schedule or delete.

It’s simple. It’s a framework that’s overall easy to remember.

1. If it’s essential and I’m passionate about it, it’s a task I take and do.
2. If I am passionate about it, but it’s not important, I schedule it for later.
3. If its important, but I am not passionate about it, I delegate it to someone.
4. If its not important or I am not passionate about the task, I forget and delete it.

The workday has changed a lot over the past year plus a couple of months since we left offices for Covid. I felt optimistic and knew it would be a journey. In the beginning, I struggled with Zoom fatigue and team communication. Those have become afterthoughts as we are all pros at virtual meetings and overcommunicating on Slack and PM software. Now, I am ensuring I spend time on the right tasks and not stuck in meetings or doing email all day.

Let me know if you have any other ways to manage your day’s tasks! Tweet me @leonhitchens!