This has got me reconsidering my future…
Yesterday I found out that “Productivity is collectively an idea that has been fed to the common man by influencers and motivational speakers in order to fuel their own businesses” and it made me wonder… am I part of the problem?
I mean, I’m definitely not an influencer or a motivational speaker… but am I just peddling the same cow doo doo?
Nobody really needs books or Notion templates or productivity apps or second brains or systems or videos or thousands of dollars spent on courses or coaching or consulting or strategizing to get things done and take care of themselves.
Many people have managed to build tremendous lives and careers with just their good ol’ brains, lots of hard work, and a simple pen and paper in their pockets.
They didn’t care about pomodoro, or coffee hacks, or $5000 tech setups for ultimate productivity yada yada yada.
Even if I really enjoy researching and writing about productivity, there’s only so many ways one person can flog a horse — and in my case, even fewer ways — since all I’m focused on are the fundamental principles and philosophies of productivity that we just have to internalise and practise over and over and over again to see results. (Aka the unsexy stuff that requires skill and intelligence to apply but also gives you an edge over competitors who only know how to follow step-by-step guides and “top 10 productivity hacks.”)
Gee, am I shooting myself in the foot here?
Is it even a productivity newsletter if I’m not breathlessly reviewing and tempting you to buy the latest productivity app that’ll definitely fix all your time management issues… unlike the last 17 I said the exact same thing about?
I don’t know… I think at this point, that’s a question for you, reading this email, to answer.
The way I see it, my mission here is to remind/motivate you daily to be your most productive self in the way that only YOU can define, since I’m not the one living your life for you…
Because yes, productivity is nothing but a scam… when it’s sold to you like snake oil.
That’s why I write about the boring, brain-based, habit-driven, deeply personal kind of productivity you can’t fully buy your way into even if you had all the money in the world… because ultimately, no strategy or system or “secret” can save you from doing the actual work of showing up FOR YOUR OWN LIFE.
Radically rebellious, I know.
But it’s either that or nothing at all. (For me, at least.)