I Didn't Do The Thing Today: On letting go of productivity guilt

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Hi I’m Steph, and each week I share the three big ideas from the best non-fiction books I’ve been reading. While this book wasn’t completely life-changing, it was a good read that did inspire me to shift my thinking on productivity. A bonus star because it gave me the strength and inner peace to Let Go of Productivity Guilt and stop reading halfway through.

the author is straight about what this book is, which is why i find reading introductions immensely important. Some days, we may only spend an hour doing the thing, but it can take all day to set ourselves up for that one potent hour. It’s a spin on the “Eat the Frog” method popularized by author Brian Tracy, which suggests doing our most dreaded task first to get it out of the way.It’s perfect for people like me, who are a little too driven, slightly OCD, and have some Catholic guilt!

It was inspired by my conversation with a farmer who started his day with a dollop of clotted cream on his porridge.Even on days where we get a lot done, the thing left undone can leave us feeling guilty, anxious or disappointed. One approach to reduce wasted-time worry is to remember that time cannot be wasted in advance—a sentiment I’ve borrowed from Arnold Bennett, who says that you can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose. I also just find a source of endless frustration when authors make an active choice to name drop- and even more so when the name dropping comes from situations and interviews they weren’t even involved with. It’s easily overlooked that our indecision is a decision that keeps us suspended, stuck in limbo, and sometimes opportunities pass us by.

She learned there isn't a perfect recipe for getting things done, the ideal routine that maximizes every minute of the day is a myth, and constantly holding ourselves to unattainable daily standards is simply exhausting us. Whether it’s romance, friendships, career paths, or new interests, we never saw most of the things that give our lives meaning coming. For anyone who has ever felt the pressure to do more, be more, achieve more, this antidote to our doing-obsession is the permission slip we all need to find our own way.Perhaps the best advice when facing indecision is to recognize that we can make a choice, and it doesn’t have to be the right one—because there is no such thing. This thing is 3x as long as it needs to be, and a solid quarter of it seems to be quotes and explenations of quotes.