Are you getting too much done? 5 ways to STOP!
A lot of writers (and normal people) complain about not getting enough done. They try to figure out ways to be more productive- setting deadlines, a daily wordcount, a more comfortable chair, a quick trip to the stationary store for some organizing bric a brac (if I just had an accordion folder...) and a better pen, the right software, the right music, lighting a candle, a talisman, a proper summoning of the muse, caffeine/alcohol/weed/opiates/heroin (or any combination thereof), whatever. SOMETHING will make them better, if they can just figure out what.
I, on the other hand, am a relentless machine. Every day, I churn out story ideas, script pages, book pitches, longform essays, tweets (sometimes threads), comments, jokes, puns, riddles, greeting cards, clever daily special menus, diatribes, screeds, harangues, love notes, magazine articles, recipes, assembly instructions, cookie fortunes, and resignation letters. One after another. People tell me to be less productive. The internet is always a good place to find 5 ways to do something, or 4 nints about something, or 3 reasons why something. So I googled, and couldn’t really find anything I had to come up with my own program.
Here are five ways to be less productive, for when success and progress becomes overwhelming
1) Spread yourself very thin.
Don’t focus on getting any one thing done. Make sure you have a LOT of irons in the fire, because that way none of them ever get too hot. If you’re working on a lot of projects, it becomes almost impossibe to focus hard enough on any one of them to MAKE IT GREAT and GET IT DONE.
Sometimes I take a step back from everything and think to myself, “What do I REALLY need to be working on/finishing right now?” Don’t do that! Keep leaping from fragment to fragment, rather than zooming out and looking at the big picture. What shoudl I prioritize to move forward? Who cares?
2) Check social media. Constantly.
“So, on the 334th Arabian night, two dudes walked into a bar…”
There’s always something new on Facebook. And on Twitter. And on Instagram. And on Tik Tok, Blah Blah, Ripper, Newdeal, LookUp, YammerDish, MartinsBestLinkGenerator.... You can also go and look at your old MySpace and Friendster. Oh yeah- LinkedIn! Look. You don’t HAVE to check them all the time. But why wouldn’t you want to know that somebody you don’t know but have 8 friends in common with has a new nephew? Or what the DOJ is up to? Or that A PERSON’S FISH?
If she had had Twitter, Shceherazade would not have needed to make up all that bullshit in 1001 Arabian Nights.
And don’t even get me started on the God-like feeling of checking a post you’ve put up for likes, getting some, then checking again moments later and having another.
3) What’s new?
The news is great. Not the local news. That’s always gonna be car accident, natural disaster two towns away, car chase, sports, weather, chuckle, consumer sting or dog mayor, repeat ad infinitum. But the national news- wow! it’s just a nonstop feast of facts, and opinions about them. And if you don’t like the facts, change the channel- somebody else will be giving different ones. Same with opinions- everybody’s is different. And it’s the total package- 3-D graphics, ominous bell music, frantic anchors breathlessly shouting about breaking news and what else is coming up, commercials for blood thinners and erection pills- a non-stop visual and sonic assault that can erase hours from your day. It really activates the little grey cells and makes the mind bubble with questions: “How can he do that? Why did she say that? IS that gonna kill me and everyone I love? Or that? Or that? Or THOSE? Or that? Ahhhh, nice, a commercial. I can relax and breathe through this for a few minutes. This is like a roller coaster! Hey wait it’s William Devane and he thinks ALL THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA KILL ME?” Bam. Two hours gone More work not done!
This is not William Devane.
4) TV’s platinum golden peak top form A number one best ever apex predator alpha dog omega man delta force charlie company age.
There’s always something to watch, even more with these so-called streaming services.
You probably saw these:
Sopranos
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Mad Men
You might have seen these:
The Wire
Friday Night Lights
Firefly
Freaks and Geeks
Battlestar Galactica
The Americans
But have you seen these?
Justified
The Leftovers
The Shield
Deadwood
Peaky Blinders
Rome
Spartacus
Dark
Babylon Berlin
That’s just the dramas. And mostly doesn’t include stuff that’s still on. And if you HAVE seen them all, they’re all worth watching again. This could be the beginning of the rest of your life.
5) Naps.
Now, some would argue that a healthy nap recharges the brain and gets you going for the next bout of hard work. But if you’re able to get a nap in within an hour of waking up in the morning, and then doing it again later in the day, I guarantee it’s not helping.