I don’t want to alarm you, but you’re sitting across from me at this bar, gripping your whiskey that’s been mostly melted ice for the last 10 minutes like it’s all you have left.
Your face is that of a person who has seen some things.
More specifically, a person who has bought some things… things that promised they would change your life, make you productive, and turn you into the kind of person who does things like “wake up early” and “complete tasks before the deadline” and “answer emails without experiencing a deep existential crisis.”
You exhale like someone much older and much more haunted than you actually are.
“I don’t get it, Yosi. I really thought this one would work.”
Oh oh. There it is. Stage 5.
But let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?
Because I can tell you exactly what happened here.
It all starts with Shock.
“I found it! I found the perfect solution!”
Maybe it’s a planner so aesthetically perfect that angels wept when it was bound.
Maybe it’s a Notion template so advanced NASA called to ask if they could borrow it.
Maybe it’s ClickUp, but premium.
Either way, you believe.
“This is it,” you whisper. “This will change my life.”
But deep down, you know where this is going.
Welcome to Stage 1: Denial.
You set your “system” up.
Oh, do you set it up.
You enter every task… You categorise them by priority… You colour-code your workflow.
“I’m totally going to stick with this,” you repeat to yourself over and over again.
Until…
Stage 2: Bargaining
2 weeks in, something feels off.
“Okay, okay—maybe if I just tweak it a little…”
Change the categories… Add some automations… Spend 4 hours watching tutorials on how to optimise it…
Maybe try a different font?
Your productivity system is now your full-time job.
But this is not suspicious to you…
Well… until Stage 3: Anger comes along.
Because despite your perfect system, your workload has not magically disappeared.
Those tasks are still there, deadlines still looming, email inbox still feral and untamed…
The system… is fai… fai… failing you?
This was not supposed to happen!
And slowly, Stage 4 appears: Depression.
You stop using Notion completely (too complicated).
Your aesthetically perfect planner may or may not have been chewed up by the dog.
Your inbox is flooded with “Hey there! Haven’t seen you in a while! Ready to get back on track? 😊” emails from ClickUp, and frankly, it’s all starting to feel… personal.
“Maybe it’s not the system,” you tell yourself. “Maybe I’m just fundamentally broken.”
“Maybe… Maybe…”
Uggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…
And that’s how you got here.
To Stage 5: Acceptance.
Sitting across from me. Looking defeated.
“So… what now?” you ask, weary.
I take a slow sip of my drink.
“Well… You can always call the Productivity Hotline.”
You blink. “And you’re going to… what? Tell me to just try Notion again but differently?”
“Nope. I’ll just help you find your momentum killer… the real reason why all the solutions you’ve tried are not working.”
“And then?”
“And then you’ll get unstuck and start moving forward again.”
You exhale.
You stare at me suspiciously.
Then you stare again, just in case I’ve changed shape in the last 3 seconds.
“Fine,” you say. “Give me the details.”
I slide a napkin across the bar: www.yosianderson.com
Tp. Tp.
There’s more where that came from!
See, I’ve been writing daily productivity emails for online business owners since November 2024.
And what you just read is barely a scratch on the surface.
The real gems… The fun, insightful, and occasionally absurd behind-the-scenes stories… My best offers… The kind of stuff that makes you go:
“Wait… did that REALLY happen?”
I don’t blast those out to the whole internet.
(Some things… should be kept private.)
But if you want to snoop around… if you want to see what really happens in AYAPYLand…
There’s a door.
And it’s open.
For now.