Productivity Is Dead. Long Live Getting Stuff Done.

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Right, let's cut through the productivity porn that's been clogging up LinkedIn feeds and self-help sections like a blocked drain in a share house.

Everyone's banging on about productivity these days like it's some mystical art form. Colour-coded calendars, apps that track your breathing patterns, and spreadsheets that require a PhD to understand. Complete rubbish, the lot of it.

I've been in business consulting for seventeen years now, and I can tell you that 73% of the "productivity experts" I've met couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery. There, I said it.

Here's what actually works: doing fewer things, but doing them properly. Revolutionary concept, right?

The problem started when we confused being busy with being productive. I made this mistake myself back in 2018 when I was juggling fourteen different projects for a client in Melbourne. Thought I was some sort of efficiency ninja. Ended up delivering mediocre results across the board and nearly had a breakdown in a Woolworths car park. True story.

The Three Things That Actually Matter

First up: knowing what you're supposed to be doing. Sounds obvious, but you'd be amazed how many people rock up to work each day with about as much direction as a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel. If you can't explain your primary objective in one sentence, you're already stuffed.

Second: saying no to everything else. This is where most people fall over. They think being helpful means agreeing to every request that comes their way. Wrong. Being helpful means protecting your capacity to do important work properly. Qantas doesn't add extra stops because passengers ask nicely – they stick to their route.

Third: accepting that you're not a machine. Despite what the hustle culture gurus tell you, human beings aren't designed to maintain peak performance for twelve hours straight. We need breaks, we need variety, and we definitely need lunch that doesn't come in a plastic wrapper.

Why Your Current System Isn't Working

Let me guess – you've tried the Pomodoro Technique, downloaded seventeen productivity apps, and colour-coded your calendar like a rainbow exploded on it. Still feeling overwhelmed?

That's because you're treating symptoms instead of causes. It's like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.

The real issue isn't your system; it's your boundaries. Or rather, your complete lack of them. You're saying yes to projects that don't align with your goals, accepting meetings that could've been emails, and checking your phone more often than a teenager on summer holidays.

I worked with a financial advisor in Perth who was absolutely drowning in client requests. Brilliant bloke, knew his stuff inside out, but couldn't understand why he was working seventy-hour weeks and still falling behind. Turned out he was personally responding to every single email within fifteen minutes because he thought it was "good service."

We restructured his communication protocols, set up proper boundaries, and suddenly he was working normal hours while actually improving client satisfaction. Sometimes less really is more.

The Attention Span Myth

Here's something that'll shock you: your attention span isn't broken. It's just being hijacked by apps designed by teams of psychologists whose job is to keep you scrolling.

Social media platforms make gambling machines look like amateur hour when it comes to addiction mechanics. Every notification is a little hit of dopamine, every like is a tiny reward, and every swipe promises something interesting just around the corner.

But here's the thing – once you recognise the game, you can stop playing it. Turn off non-essential notifications. Better yet, delete the apps during work hours. I know it sounds drastic, but your brain will thank you.

What High Performers Actually Do

Forget what you've read in business magazines about successful people's morning routines. Most of that is marketing nonsense designed to sell you courses and supplements.

Real high performers have mastered exactly two skills: prioritisation and recovery.

They know that everything feels urgent when you're overwhelmed, but very little actually is. They've learned to distinguish between what's important and what's just loud. And when they do focus on something, they give it proper attention rather than half-arsing it while thinking about seventeen other things.

They also understand that productivity isn't about grinding harder; it's about making better decisions. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is knock off early and get a proper night's sleep.

The Energy Management Revolution

Time management is so 2019. Energy management is where it's at.

You've probably noticed that you're sharper at certain times of day and absolutely useless at others. Instead of fighting this natural rhythm, successful people work with it. They schedule demanding cognitive work when they're mentally fresh and save routine tasks for when their brain feels like it's running on dial-up internet.

I've started scheduling all my important writing between 9 and 11 AM because that's when my brain actually functions. Afternoons are for emails, admin, and those mindless tasks that don't require much thinking. Revolutionary? No. Effective? Absolutely.

Microsoft's research shows that the average knowledge worker is only truly productive for about three hours per day anyway. The rest is meetings, interruptions, and what they politely call "transition time" – which is corporate speak for "staring blankly at your screen wondering what you were supposed to be doing."

The Perfectionism Trap

This might hurt, but your perfectionism isn't a virtue – it's a productivity killer dressed up as a work ethic.

Perfect is the enemy of done, and done is usually good enough. That report doesn't need to read like Shakespeare; it needs to communicate information clearly. Your presentation doesn't need Hollywood production values; it needs to get your point across.

I see this constantly with my clients, particularly in the finance sector where attention to detail is crucial. They'll spend three hours perfecting a memo that nobody will read completely, while important strategic work sits in their inbox gathering digital dust.

The secret is knowing when good enough is actually good enough. Sometimes 80% quality delivered on time is infinitely more valuable than 100% quality delivered late.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: if you're chronically behind on everything, the problem isn't that you need better productivity tools. The problem is that you've committed to more than is humanly possible, and no amount of efficiency hacks will fix that fundamental maths problem.

Making It Stick

Start small. Pick one thing – just one – that you're going to change this week. Maybe it's turning off email notifications, maybe it's blocking out two hours for focused work, maybe it's saying no to the next non-essential meeting that gets suggested.

Don't try to overhaul your entire life in a weekend. That's how you end up back where you started by Thursday, feeling even more frustrated than before.

The best productivity system is the one you'll actually use consistently, not the most sophisticated one you can find on YouTube.

And remember: being productive isn't about cramming more into your day. It's about making sure the important stuff gets done without making yourself miserable in the process.

That's it. No complicated frameworks, no subscription apps, no morning routines that require a personal assistant to coordinate.

Just common sense applied consistently.

Imagine that.