Slow Productivity

"I frequently worry that being productive is the surest way to lull ourselves into a trance of passivity and busyness the greatest distraction from living, as we coast through our lives day after day, showing up for our obligations but being absent from our selves, mistaking the doing for the being." — Maria Popova

Rather than wait passively, "wait for it" requires that you do three things while you wait:

1. Think about what you're waiting for.

2. Visualize what it will look like.

3. Talk to others about it and seek advice.

Productivity is not drudgery and chores. It’s your ability to take a vision in your head and manifest it in the real world.

Productivity is also not about working harder and longer. It’s about working more efficiently, which means minimizing waste. Think wasted time, effort, energy, or potential.

Productivity is not some random hacks and silver bulle... See more

There are two types of driven people. Those who want to get it done. And those who want to get it right. All people who want to get it right want to get it done. Almost nobody who wants to get it done wants to get it right.

A busy calendar and a busy mind will destroy your ability to do great things in this world. If you want to do great things—whether you’re a musician or entrepreneur or investor—you need free time and a free mind.

There is truly a bottomless pit of advice on how to do work faster, harder, and more efficiently, and all of these ideas have been comforting to me at various times in my career. Now, having made myself sick living like that, I find myself looking for new advice on how to adhere to some other approach, one that does not focus primarily on beating t... See more