Stop being productive (and get your life back)
The problem with productivity advice isn’t that it doesn’t work.
It’s that it works too well.
You optimize yourself into a corner where everything feels like a checklist, every moment needs to be “leveraged,” and you can’t take a vacation without calculating the hourly cost of relaxation.
I know because I’ve been there:
- Treating my morning routine like a damn military operation that left me drained by 9 AM.
- Saying ‘no’ to a family vacation in my 20s. Not because I didn’t want to go, but because it seemed unproductive.
- Spending months “optimizing” email automations instead of just picking up the phone and closing deals.
I used to brag about being so productive I could work 16-hour days.
It really did feel like a badge of honor.
Then one day, I got curious and decided to actually track my time. Turns out my “grinding” was 5 hours of actual work and 11 hours of procrastinating on the hard stuff…
Here’s what’s crazy – most people who claim they’re overworked are actually under-focused.
They’re confusing being busy with being productive.
Have you noticed this? Most productivity advice just teaches you how to be busy. How to be a better robot at executing tasks. But do you ever zoom out and wonder… “am I focusing on the right tasks?”
Who cares if you’re productive on the wrong things. And there’s a massive difference between being busy and being productive.
So here’s what I wish someone had told me when I was in hustle mode:
Your life doesn’t need to be easier. It needs to be simpler.
The most successful people I know aren’t running 47 different systems. They’ve ruthlessly eliminated everything that doesn’t move the needle.
“But clark, the average millionaire has 7 streams of income”
Yeah. After they made all their money by focusing on ONE.
Looking back on my journey, I think productivity culture turns you into someone who’s no fun to be around.
Everything becomes transactional.
The whole thing is insane – you’re optimizing so hard for future enjoyment that you can’t enjoy anything now.
You become the asshole at the party who thinks everyone’s “wasting time” if they’re not talking about entrepreneurship.
I can say all this, because I used to be that guy. And what I realized is that most people are sleepwalking through life. They’re using the same thinking that caused the problem to try and get out of the problem.
All these productivity hacks? It’s like straightening deck chairs on a Titanic.
What I realized is that the point isn’t to do more. It’s to do less so you can actually live.
When you strip things down, you stop treating every moment like it has to earn its keep. You stop optimizing your way into a corner.
And ironically, that’s when the ideas show up. When you’re walking, laughing, and living. Not when you’re forcing yourself to be “on.”
Most people are running east looking for a sunset.
Slow down.
Look around.
The whole reason you wanted to be “productive” was to feel alive…
So don’t miss it.
LIFE UPDATES
Drums
Finally made it back to the studio after six months of just playing the E-kit at home. Forgot how much I missed the feel of real drums – the sound, the energy, everything. Might start throwing some videos back up on IG just because it’s fun.
Monday’s Video
Shot something in Sedona about social skills that actually matter. Turned out pretty solid. The backdrop didn’t hurt either.
See you next Saturday,
CK
