A Radical Approach to Productivity, Self-Compassion Series, Jocelyn K. Glei
Jocelyn K. Glei, author and host of Hurry Slowly, discusses how to combat burnout and boost creativity by embracing self-compassion and slowing down. She shares strategies for managing productivity shame, setting boundaries, and working more humanely in an age of digital distraction.
Deep Dive Analysis
16 Topic Outline
Introduction to Self-Compassion and Guest Jocelyn Glei
Jocelyn Glei's Background and Focus on Productivity
Reasons for the Current Productivity Challenge
Critique of 'Fake Productivity' and Technology's Influence
Strategies for Setting Boundaries and Saying No
The Value of Goal Setting, Tracking, and Accountability
The Importance of Celebrating Progress and Small Wins
Core Philosophy of Heart-Centered Productivity
Aligning Work with Natural Circadian Rhythms
Understanding and Accepting Personal Limits
Understanding and Dealing with Productivity Shame
Distinguishing Rest from Procrastination: Tender Discipline
Managing Deadlines and Enjoying the Creative Process
Benefits of Working in Analog vs. Digital
The Concept of 'White Space' in Schedules
Meditation, Reiki, and Spiritual Exploration
9 Key Concepts
Self-Compassion
An incredibly useful concept, especially in the West, to counter self-laceration and self-judgment. It's about going easy without going soft, and there's evidence it boosts focus and resilience, and improves relationships.
Productivity Shame
The act of setting completely unrealistic goals or schedules for oneself, often knowing them to be unrealistic, and then later beating oneself up for not being able to meet that schedule.
Heart-Centered Productivity
A philosophy that discards the speed-obsessed, efficiency-focused approach to work, which often leads to burnout. It emphasizes aligning work with human nature, well-being, and the inherently inefficient creative process.
Completion Bias
A human tendency to like recognizing a task as complete, which provides a dopamine hit and encourages repeating those behaviors. This predisposes people to favor quick, easy-to-finish tasks like checking email or social media notifications, even if they aren't meaningful.
Rule of Reciprocation
A human behavioral tendency where people want to return a positive action with another action. In the digital space, this can lead to feeling compelled to respond to a 'fire hose' of requests, even if they are not desired or important, because there are no boundaries.
Small Wins
The concept that making meaningful progress at work, even through baby steps, has the biggest impact on people's mood, well-being, and motivation. Acknowledging these small steps is crucial for sustained engagement.
Hofstadter's Law
A principle stating that everything takes longer than you think it will, even when you account for Hofstadter's Law. It highlights the difficulty of accurately estimating time for creative or novel projects.
White Space
An analogy from graphic design, referring to the blank space that helps understand what to focus on and brings harmony to an overall design. In scheduling, it means creating deliberate pockets of free time to allow for reflection, contemplation, or rest, which fosters tenderness and compassion.
Tender Discipline
A concept that suggests discipline doesn't require constant self-monitoring or striving for immaculate perfection. Instead, it involves trusting oneself and being more gentle, which paradoxically can lead to more effective and sustainable discipline.
8 Questions Answered
The shift in technology has placed more onus on the individual for self-management, with tools like email and Slack bringing more work directly to individuals. The fragmentation of traditional jobs also means many people juggle multiple projects, demanding more executive functioning and self-management.
Fake productivity refers to engaging in tasks that feel productive on the surface but are not meaningful or aligned with one's own priorities. Digital tools like email and social media are engineered to tap into human behaviors like completion bias and the rule of reciprocation, making quick, easy-to-finish tasks (like clearing notifications) feel rewarding, even if they distract from important work.
First, get clear on your own meaningful goals and priorities to know what to protect. Second, shift your language from 'I can't do that' to 'I don't do that' when declining requests, as 'I don't' implies a firm principle and depersonalizes the refusal, making it harder for others to push back.
Even in the science of peak performance, most people can only execute four to four and a half hours a day of really hard, concerted attention at a maximum.
When feeling unmotivated, sit down for 15-20 minutes and try to re-engage with the project's 'energy.' Often, by getting back into it, flow will return. If, after this short re-engagement, you still feel exhausted or uninspired, then it might genuinely be a day to rest.
Focusing on the process rather than solely on the outcome can increase motivation and enjoyment. Additionally, shifting work from digital to analog (e.g., printing out documents to edit, sketching ideas on paper) can make the process more engaging, less distracting, and allow for a 'messier', more natural creative flow.
No, it is for anyone doing any work, especially those with some autonomy over their schedule. Creativity is defined broadly as problem-solving or self-expression, meaning it applies to engineers, mothers, customer service, and many other roles, not just traditional artists.
Working in an overscheduled, time-constrained way creates a kind of tunnel vision, making individuals less controlled, less insightful, and less forward-thinking. This 'scarcity' of time hinders the very qualities needed for meaningful or creative projects.
27 Actionable Insights
1. Reduce Self-Laceration & Judgment
Actively work to reduce self-laceration and self-judgment, as evidence suggests it decreases your ability to focus, be resilient, and can harm relationships, which are crucial for success.
2. Accept Your Personal Limits
Recognize and accept your inherent human limitations, such as the maximum amount of sustained attention you can give in a day, and plan your work accordingly to reduce self-criticism and overwhelm.
3. Clarify Meaningful Goals
Dedicate time to clearly define your personal and professional goals that you find truly meaningful and rewarding, as this framework is essential for setting effective boundaries and prioritizing.
4. Create Schedule White Space
Deliberately build ‘white space’ or slack into your schedule, as this uncluttered time reduces tunnel vision, fosters insight, and creates opportunities for self-tenderness and compassion.
5. Prioritize Sleep & Exercise
Prioritize getting enough sleep and engaging in regular physical exercise as foundational habits, as they are crucial for overall well-being and can significantly impact your ability to function effectively.
6. Utilize an Accountability Partner
Engage an accountability partner (e.g., collaborator, coach, trusted friend) to help you track progress, stay motivated, and recognize accomplishments, rather than relying solely on willpower.
7. Track & Celebrate Small Wins
Consciously track and acknowledge your small, meaningful progress (baby steps) on projects, as this recognition significantly boosts mood, wellbeing, and motivation.
8. Prioritize Process Over Outcome
Shift your focus from constantly thinking and talking about the outcome of your goals to concentrating on the process, as this approach increases motivation and makes you more likely to achieve the goal.
9. Use ‘I Don’t’ for Boundaries
When declining requests or setting boundaries, frame your response with ‘I don’t’ (e.g., ‘I don’t check emails on Saturdays’) instead of ‘I can’t,’ as it establishes a firm principle and depersonalizes the refusal.
10. Set Small Window Goals
Break down large projects into smaller, achievable goals (e.g., 6-week or 3-month windows) to better track progress, adjust expectations, and maintain motivation.
11. Align Work with Energy Rhythms
Understand your natural circadian rhythm (energy peaks and dips) and align your work tasks, exercise, and breaks with these rhythms to work more productively and powerfully with less effort.
12. Adjust Work Capacity Expectations
Recognize that most people can only sustain about four to four and a half hours of hard, concerted attention per day, and adjust your work expectations accordingly to avoid feeling like a failure.
13. Use Analog for Creative Work
For early stages of creative projects, work in analog (e.g., printing documents, using sketch pads) away from your computer to foster messiness and clarity of thought, avoiding digital distractions and premature polishing.
14. Re-Engage Project Energy Briefly
If you’ve lost momentum on a creative project, commit to sitting down for 15-20 minutes to re-engage with its energy; this often helps re-establish flow, or clarifies if you truly need a break.
15. Integrate Short Meditation Bursts
If unable to commit to long sessions, integrate short meditation bursts (5-8 minutes) strategically throughout your day, such as during commutes, lunch breaks, or before bed, to build a consistent practice.
16. Commit to Meditation (4-6 Weeks)
Commit to a consistent meditation practice for four to six weeks, even if only for a few minutes daily, to experience the benefits firsthand and transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation.
17. Practice Self-Compassion Meditation
If struggling with self-worth or an inner critical dialogue, engage in guided self-compassion meditation practices to foster kindness towards yourself.
18. Schedule Reflection Time
Intentionally carve out dedicated time for reflection, contemplation, and the less tangible aspects of the creative process, rather than only scheduling time for direct execution.
19. Track Progress Visibly & Analog
Create a visible, analog system (e.g., handwritten calendar on a wall) to track your progress, allowing you to constantly see and acknowledge your accomplishments.
20. Create a Priority Board
Develop a visual board (like Trello) to categorize your priorities into levels (e.g., highest, mid, low, not now, not ever), which provides clarity on what truly matters.
21. Practice Sane Email Habits
Adopt mindful and efficient email habits to prevent feeling overwhelmed and to prioritize your own work over constant reactions to others’ demands.
22. Enjoy the Work Process
Actively seek methods and mindsets that allow you to enjoy the day-to-day process of your work, rather than solely focusing on the outcome.
23. Set Realistic Deadlines
Establish deadlines that are genuinely achievable, acknowledging human limitations rather than over-committing, to avoid burnout and self-criticism.
24. Slow Down for Better Output
Adopt the simple act of slowing down in your work and life, as it can significantly enhance your productivity, creativity, and resilience.
25. Practice Tender Discipline
Cultivate discipline and meet deadlines in a gentle, non-self-lacerating manner, fostering a more humane and sustainable approach to work.
26. Get Out of Bed if Sleepless
If you find yourself tossing and turning for too long in bed, get out of bed and do something calming (like meditating) in another part of the room until you feel sleepy again, to avoid associating your bed with wakefulness.
27. Keep Physical Revision Stack
Save all physical copies of your revisions and let them accumulate on your desk to serve as a tangible testament to your progress, providing motivation during difficult phases.
9 Key Quotes
There's a significant amount of evidence now that [self-laceration and self-judgment] actually reduces your ability to focus and be resilient. And it ends up, in many ways, hurting your relationships with other people, which, of course, you need in order to be successful.
Dan Harris
The hard part is kind of seeing something through, right? Executing on an idea.
Jocelyn Glei
You could run your entire life based on other people's requests and demands.
Jocelyn Glei
When you say you can't do something, it sort of implies like, well, I can't do it now under these circumstances, but if the circumstances were different than I could... Whereas when you say you don't do something, it sort of gives a sense of like a hard and fast rule or principle.
Jocelyn Glei
What made, what had the biggest impact on people's mood, their, um, sense of wellbeing and their sense of motivation was making meaningful progress at work.
Jocelyn Glei
The creative process is by nature, an inefficient process, um, that cannot be, um, you know, improved and made more efficient in the way that you could make like a Ford assembly line more efficient.
Jocelyn Glei
Creativity is, um, just about problem solving, you know? And I think we all do it.
Jocelyn Glei
Nobody likes writing a book. Everybody likes having written a book.
Dan Harris
Research is heaven and writing is hell.
Jocelyn Glei
3 Protocols
Effective Goal Setting for Long-Term Projects
Jocelyn Glei- Set goals in small windows, such as three months or even six weeks, rather than a single giant goal (e.g., a finished manuscript).
- Break down large projects into smaller, more realistically accomplishable goals for these shorter windows.
- After each small window, assess how long the goal actually took and recalibrate projections for the next small goal.
- Use this method to track progress, stay motivated, and adjust expectations realistically over time.
Boosting Creative Flow and Overcoming Resistance
Jocelyn Glei- When feeling unmotivated or disconnected from a creative project, sit down for 15-20 minutes and try to re-engage with its 'energy'.
- Attempt to write or work on the project for this short period to see if the flow or momentum returns.
- If the flow picks up, continue working. If you still feel genuinely exhausted or uninspired, acknowledge it and allow yourself to step away for the day without self-criticism.
- Recognize the role of momentum: an object in motion tends to stay in motion, so short re-engagement can help restart the process.
Working in Analog for Enhanced Creativity and Enjoyment
Jocelyn Glei- For early stages of creative projects (e.g., outlining talks, editing interviews, brainstorming), move the work from digital to analog space.
- Print out documents for editing or use large sketch pads/whiteboards for brainstorming and mapping out ideas.
- Work away from your desk and computer, perhaps on a couch or in a different space, to foster a less precise, more messy and organic creative process.
- Only transition to digital tools (computer) once you are clear on your core ideas and ready for execution, polishing, and precision, avoiding digital distractions in the initial stages.