Be Honest

An insightful post on the blog Constructively Productive shared some "heretical" productivity advice from 36 amazing folks. I thought I’d share some my top piece of advice on being productive. It’s simple:

Be honest.

Photo by Tiago Ribeiro

Be honest with yourself about what you want. Be honest with yourself about what you are really willing to do and not do, and let all your words and actions be in accordance with that true understanding. Be honest with yourself about how much time and energy you have available, and bring your commitments into alignment with that truth.

Time management and productivity tools can enhance your ability to work with what you have and use your resources effectively. These tools can help you track your goals, thoughts and commitments. They can also provide a framework to check your actions against your stated intentions, so that you can more easily bring them into harmony. There are even tools out there to help you learn more about your inner drives and your heart.

However, no tool can make that final leap of committing to being honest with yourself about what you want, what you are willing to do, and whether your actions are in accordance with your words. That’s a leap that only you can make. Ultimately, it’s the leap that makes you successful at managing your time and energy—because time management is really only a tool. A wonderful tool, but it can’t ever replace you… your honesty, your energy, your effort and your heart.

If you could give one piece of advice about productivity, conventional or heretical, what would it be?

Comments

[Meghan McGinty]

I really appreciate this post. Similarly, I found the most captivating piece of wisdom from the book Eat Pray Love to be "Tell yourself the truth." Everything becomes real with the truth.

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[Thekla]

Thanks Meghan! Eat Pray Love is an amazing book.

[Audrey]

This is a great article, thanks! I especially appreciate your point on time management. I've been learning more about this in a new book by Julie Cohen, called, "Your Work, Your Life…Your Way." The steps are easy to follow and really helped me re-prioritize my life. You should check it out!