Stop Chasing 'Productivity': How to Build a Life That Actually Works
By Jordan — Discipline gets you there. Self-awareness keeps you there. ·
Look, I know what you’re looking for. You clicked on this because you’re tired. You’re tired of the endless to-do lists, the apps that promise to ‘hack’ your attention, and the feeling that no matter how much you do, you’re still falling behind.
I’ve been there. After I got out of the Corps, I thought productivity was about how many hours I could stay awake and how many tasks I could check off before the sun came up. I treated my life like a mission profile. If I wasn't moving, I was failing.
Spoiler alert: That path leads to a wall. A hard one. Therapy taught me that productivity isn’t just ‘getting stuff done.’ It’s about energy management and knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place. If you’re disciplined but you’re running toward the wrong horizon, you’re just wasting gas.
Let’s cut the fluff. Here is how you actually get things done without losing your mind in the process.
Kill the 'Optimization' Myth
There is a massive industry built on making you feel like a broken machine that needs an upgrade. You don’t need a new calendar app. You don’t need a fancy color-coded journal. You need to stop trying to optimize your life and start simplifying your choices.
Most of us are ‘busy’ because we’re afraid of saying no. We overcommit because we want to feel important or because we’re terrified of sitting alone with our own thoughts. If you want to be productive, start by cutting the bottom 30% of your current obligations. If it doesn’t move the needle on your long-term goals or bring real value to your life, drop it. It’s not ‘productive’ to do things that don’t matter well.
The 'First Two Hours' Rule
When I was in the service, we had a saying: ‘The mission dictates the movement.’ In civilian life, the mission usually gets buried under emails, texts, and other people’s emergencies.
If you want to own your day, you have to claim the first two hours. No phone. No social media. No checking the news to see what’s on fire in the world today. Do your hardest, most cognitively demanding task before the rest of the world knows you’re awake. When you win the morning, you build momentum. Even if the rest of the day goes sideways—and it will—you’ve already banked a win.
Stop Tracking Time, Start Tracking Energy
I used to think that being ‘productive’ meant working for eight hours straight. That’s a factory mindset, and you aren’t a machine. You have biological rhythms.
Some of you are sharpest at 5:00 AM. Some of you don’t really wake up until 2:00 PM. Stop fighting your biology to fit someone else’s schedule. If you’re a morning person, do the deep work then. If you’re a night owl, stop trying to force yourself to be a ‘morning person’ just because a podcast told you to. Track your energy for a week. When do you feel focused? When do you feel like you’re wading through mud? Schedule your tasks according to your brain’s actual capacity, not your ego’s desires.
The Vulnerability of Saying 'I Can't'
This is the part most ‘productivity experts’ won’t tell you. Sometimes, being productive means admitting you’re overwhelmed and taking a step back.
Real discipline is knowing when to push and when to recover. If you’re burnt out, you aren’t being productive; you’re just spinning your wheels and wearing out the engine. Vulnerability is the act of looking at your calendar and saying, ‘I am not going to meet this deadline because I need to prioritize my mental health.’ That’s not weakness. That’s self-awareness. And self-awareness is what keeps you in the game for the long haul. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and you definitely can’t lead a productive life if you’re running on fumes.
Conduct a Weekly ‘After-Action Review’
In the Marines, we did an After-Action Review (AAR) after every mission. We asked: What happened? Why did it happen? What are we going to do differently next time?
Most people finish a week, feel like garbage, and then just repeat the exact same schedule the next Monday. Stop. Take 20 minutes on Sunday. Look at your past week. Where did you get distracted? What tasks made you feel energized, and which ones drained you? If you don’t audit your life, your life will continue to audit you. Keep the habits that work, discard the ones that don’t, and keep moving forward.
Productivity isn’t about doing more things. It’s about doing the right things, in the right way, while keeping your head on straight. It’s a practice, not a destination. You’re going to have days where you fail. You’re going to have weeks where you fall off the wagon. That’s life.
Discipline gets you to the starting line, but your self-awareness is what keeps you running when the terrain gets rough.
What’s one thing you’re doing this week that you know is a waste of your time? Let’s talk about it. Hit reply or leave a comment—I’m curious to hear how you’re deciding to change your approach.
Stay grounded,
Jordan