Usually, when I think of productivity, I think of frantically working and getting a ton of stuff done. I think the problem with that picture is the word frantic. Frantic and productive aren’t words that should go together. Rather, methodical and productive should go together.

So I’m slowing down. I’m not scaling back any hours or anything, but my intention is to slow down and at each point in my day, when I think about my next thing, I want to make a more deliberate decision on what my next task should be. Here is what I expect to happen:

• I’m going to say no to the small stuff that I shouldn’t be doing anyway. Productivity is just as much about saying no as it is about getting things done.
• I’m going to pause and think, no more defaulting back to email during down times.
• I will do much less of the useless junk that eats my time and much more of the important tasks that will help me grow.