I might be the worst self-improvement / productivity influencer. People frequently ask me what my secret is for doing so much. Maybe it’s the 5 kids, traveling, or writing a book that has given them the impression of my amazing productivity skills.
How do I do so much? I don’t.
That’s the secret.
I know there are really inspiring people online who have this framework that in order to get your 50 things done each day, what you actually need is to do 75 things. Even though getting the 50 things done feels impossible, exhausting, and stressful. Somehow, you can bend time and human limits by adding the 25 extra tasks and then magically, you are doing 75 things and yet feel rested and relaxed.
I’m sure it’s true for the 9 people it works for. Let’s, just for a second, ignore that the two traits they have in common are lots of money and no children. I’m sure those factors have no impact on their outcomes.
Anyway, wonderful for them. I have never seemed to make that work for me.
The best way for me to get stuff done is to do less. And after I’ve shrunk my list down as much as possible, then I do a few things rather poorly.
Take my list of 50 things I’m struggling to complete. I’ll eliminate 10 right off the top. I should clarify here that removing these 10 is embarrassing and not always socially acceptable. I don’t have 10 easy things to get rid of. Those were gone long ago. These 10 are painful cuts.
Like not showing every day. Not knowing any of my kid’s teachers’ names, even the ones I speak to frequently. Teacher gifts? Yeah, that’s such a sweet idea and has never happened once. It’s springtime and all the cars are going through the car wash, I don’t think my minivan has ever seen the inside of a car wash. Hopefully, a strong rain will happen and wash the thin layer of winter mud from its doors.
Then some things still need to happen. No getting around it. So I do them constantly or occasionally poorly. That accounts for perhaps 5 of the 50 things.
In case you need inspiration, here is my method for returning clothes that don’t fit. After trying them on I set them in the corner of my room for 2-3 months, until the window during which they could be returned has passed. Then I put them into the back of the muddy mini-van to donate. They ride around for 6-12 months, providing a soft place to set all my Costco groceries on top of, until I drop them off at the Salvation Army.
One thing I do occasionally poorly is feed my kids well-balanced and nutritious meals. Sometimes, there are fresh veggies, and sometimes, they eat a bag of microwave popcorn and instant hot cocoa for dinner.
So now I’m down to 35 things I can consistently do well. I just happen to be doing them well with unwashed hair in a muddy mini-van that has Salvation Army donations sitting in the back.
If you have figured out the magical trick for doing all 75 things brilliantly and beautifully with no stress and pure joy, that’s amazing. But if you are wondering how I get “so much” done, I don’t. That’s my trick.