Productivity often feels like a race against the clock.
We’re driven by the relentless ticking of the clock each day, and what we imagine everyone else getting ahead of us.
We’re constantly setting ambitious goals and targets.
We believe everything must happen at warp speed.
But our goals are too often unrealistic, and our targets outlandishly arbitrary, leading us straight to failure. But when we’re setting ourselves up to fail, what other outcome can we expect?
It’s time to shift our focus from the immediate demands of the clock to the broader perspective of our calendars.
The short-term mindset
Our obsession with quick results has led us to adopt a short-term mindset. We prioritise immediate gains, setting tight deadlines and pushing for rapid outcomes.
This approach can be seen in all areas of life, from workplace projects to personal goals. The pressure to achieve fast results often leads to rushed work, perceived failure, and burnout.
And it’s the reason so many great products and services never see the light of day. We simply don’t give them time.
The issue of arbitrary targets
The goals we set under this short-term mindset are often arbitrary.
They lack a realistic foundation and are driven by external pressures rather than careful planning. This kind of target is bound to fail because it’s not rooted in reality.
Imagine setting a goal to launch a new product in a month. While ambitious, such a timeline probably ignores crucial stages like research, development, testing, and feedback. Without accounting for these steps, the project faces inevitable delays, quality compromises, and often failure.
At this point we’ll often throw out the baby with the bathwater, assuming the idea was wrong in the first place.
In truth, the idea never had a chance, because it was being judged against an impossible timeframe.
Embracing long-term planning
Instead of living by the clock, what if we started living by the calendar?
The calendar offers a broader perspective, encouraging us to see beyond the immediate. Cal Newport, in his book Slow Productivity, champions this shift. He suggests that instead of focusing on speed, we should prioritise deliberate practice and greater focus on fewer things over more time.
The calendar allows us to see the bigger picture and plan our actions strategically.
It gives us a fighting chance.
The power of deliberate practice
By shifting our focus from short-term gains to long-term planning, we allow ourselves to plan and execute tasks more effectively. This doesn’t mean slowing to a crawl, but rather allocating time wisely — see my article from a few days ago on The One Thousand Minute Rule.
We should shift our emphasis to quality, understanding that true mastery and significant achievements take time.
Making the shift
To realign our productivity goals, we need to embrace the calendar’s perspective.
Here’s how I’m going about that:
- Create boundaries as forcing factors: Work must have start and end times. When it’s allowed to eat into evenings and weekends indefinitely you will lose appreciation of what the truly important priorities are. You will not necessarily achieve more by always working all hours.
- Set realistic goals: Break down large projects into manageable tasks with realistic timelines. Acknowledge that worthwhile achievements require sustained effort over time.
- Prioritise quality over speed: Focus on the quality of your work rather than how quickly you can complete it. This might mean taking extra time for research, planning, or revisions, but it leads to superior outcomes. This is not to be confused with over-deliberating or procrastination.
- Embrace deliberate practice: Dedicate time to deep work and deliberate practice. This involves learning new skills, honing existing ones, or thoroughly exploring a topic. And document those as you go.
- Plan for the long term: Use your calendar to plan for the year, not just the next week or month. Long-term planning helps you allocate resources effectively and avoid last-minute rushes. Work backwards form the end point and your objectives become far more attainable.
By shifting our focus from the immediate pressures of the clock to the broader stretch of the calendar, we can achieve more meaningful and sustainable success.
Stop looking at the clock.
Start looking at your calendar.
Your future self will thank you.
