You struggle with being productive. So you decide you need to establish a routine for yourself. You get real gung-ho about this routine — this is going to be the thing that changes everything! But then you fail to stick to it. So you flagellate yourself for that failure and decide what you need is a different routine. But then you don’t stick with that routine either. The cycle then repeats itself, leaving you no more productive than you were at the start.
My guest, Madeleine Dore, found herself stuck in this cycle. So she decided to start interviewing successful creative types to get their secrets to an optimal routine. Yet these folks would confide to her a different secret: they actually didn’t have a routine either.
Madeleine has come to believe something that I’ve discovered too: routines aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and you can actually still be very creative and productive even if you go about each day in a looser, more ad-hoc fashion.
Today on the show, I talk to Madeleine, who’s the author of I Didn’t Do the Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt, about how the all-or-nothing thinking which surrounds routines can actually sabotage our effectiveness. We then discuss alternatives to keeping a strict routine that still allow you to get stuff done, including moving to a “portable routine,” taking advantage of “splodge time,” and embracing cycles and seasons in your work. We also discuss other ways to let go of unuseful productivity guilt, including setting realistic expectations and not eating the frog first.
Resources Related to the PodcastThe Vital Skills We’re Losing to Technology (And How to Reclaim Them)
How to Know When It's Time to Break Up With Your Job
The Essential Habits for Becoming an Agile, Vital, and Durable Human Being
The 5 Mountains of Personal Development
Stop Drowning in Tedious Tasks by Taming Your Life Admin
A Surprising Solution for Disordered Masculinity
The Sunscreen Debate — Are We Blocking Our Way to Better Health?
Optimize Your Testosterone
Books, Routines, and Habits: The Founders' Guide to Self-Improvement
The Fascinating Differences Between Male and Female Friendships
Systems and Tools for Stealing Back Hours of Productivity
EPISODE #1,000! Rules for the Modern Man
The Epic Adventures of America’s Forgotten Mountain Man
Dad's Essential Role in Making Kids Awesome
The Laws of Connection — The Scientific Secrets of Building Stronger Relationships
Remembering D-Day 80 Years Later
Why You're So Bad at Giving and Receiving Compliments (And How to Fix That)
A Guide to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Tactics and Mindset Shifts for Making the Most of Life
The Shadows Over Men's Hearts and How to Fight Them
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Hidden Brain