Announcements

• This summer, I’m doing something new here at Tending: sharing guest newsletters from two writers whose work I deeply value, that I know you’ll love, too. The guest newsletters will appear once a month in August and September. I’ll share more details with the first guest newsletter on August 19th, then I’ll be back on September 2nd!

• My coaching books are open! Don’t let the spaciousness of summer slip through your hands like sand at the beach. Let’s use this time to set a strong foundation for the coming months so that you can end the summer feeling resourced and ready to create gentle momentum towards your most meaningful work. Book a free discovery call with me today to learn more.

• Co-working for premium newsletter subscribers and Success & Accountability Coaching clients is this Saturday from 11am-1pm EDT. Learn more and grab the Zoom link here!

I’ve been showing up to my desk, sitting down to work, and spending time.

Yes, that’s a full sentence. I’m spending my time, but I don’t necessarily have anything to show for it. I don’t mean to degrade the important behind-the-scenes mental labor of thinking or imagining, which I do count as work. I mean that I’ve been jumping from a website to my email to open a document to start a brain dump all within ten minutes, without a real purpose beyond being productive.

I decided to call this task-scrolling, because it’s similar to when I get sucked into the algorithm on social media and just scroll, and scroll…and scroll again to the next thing. At least on Instagram I get to see a puppy doing a trick or a vegan casserole recipe! On the computer, I’m just pinballing between tasks and wasting time I could be spending reading a romantasy novel.

Task-scrolling happens when I think “you know what, I’m going to get ahead on things.”

If you know my work, you know that I prioritize my tasks with something called the Must-Do Method (I talk about it in this podcast), which means I proactively schedule tasks for when I truly need to work on them. Following this method means that I don’t typically need to get ahead on tasks, so I’m not in the habit of (and am not intrinsically motivated to) complete things ahead of time.

Okay so, I’m not great at working ahead on things.

Step one: awareness. ✅

But instead of saying “well, that’s not for me so I won’t try” or even “working ahead is just me backsliding into workaholism and I definitely shouldn’t do it,” I want to bring some nuance:

Working ahead is a skill I’d like to practice so I can use it in a sustainable way and allow it to support me. For example, working ahead on my writing and podcasts in August can prepare me for taking some time off later in the year.

I’m going to try three tools this month to support me in flexing my “work ahead” muscle: micro-productivity, deep thinking, and giving myself permission to lean into rest.

Micro-Productivity

There’s a quirkily worded concept in the productivity world called “task decomposition.” Similar to the decomposition that makes a compost pile fertile for your garden, breaking a large project into steps and then breaking each step into smaller tasks can make even the most daunting deadline feel achievable. So as you might guess, micro-productivity is working on tasks that are small!

Instead of “clean my apartment” you would select a single room to focus on, and then break your tasks down further, like “Put away the dishes in the dishwasher. Spray down the countertops. Take out the garbage. Vacuum the floor.”

When it comes to working ahead, I have to start with a small, approachable task. If I look at my entire task list and tell myself to work ahead, I’ll end up task-scrolling, and while I’ll feel “busy,” I won’t feel fulfilled at the end of my workday (a feeling I deeply cherish).

Starting with one small task also eliminates decision-making, and the act of breaking down my to-do list into actionable components before I dive into my work means I’m less likely to get confused or distracted during my work session.

Deep Thinking

Whereas micro-productivity allows me to optimize my work session by setting small, achievable tasks, deep thinking invites me to occupy a state of flow and sustained focus through deep work. When I was researching how to feel more mental clarity during a work session, I came across a helpful video by writer JA Westenberg, “Productivity Is a Trap. Clarity Maxxing Is the Escape.”

Obviously, I don’t think productivity in general is a trap, and for today, I’m not going to explore whether, when, and for whom “clarity maxxing” works best—but I do want to say that I like the concept as a way to do deep, exploratory work (like my book project). According to Westenberg, clarity maxxers recognize that “diffused attention” supports “breakthrough thinking” where we can make “novel connections between disparate concepts” (like when you have an a-ha moment in the shower).

In the case of my task-scrolling, I was intrigued with Westenberg’s questions: “How much of our busy work is actually necessary? When we eliminate the performance of productivity, what remains?”

When I think about my goal of “getting ahead on things,” it was less about performing productivity for others (because no one knew I was doing it, though an argument could be made that I was self-policing my productivity). Instead, my task-scrolling occured because I wasn’t practicing micro-productivity or doing deep thinking. In other words, task-scrolling was wasting my time, energy, and focus, because I was neither checking things off my list or enjoying the process of exploratory, reflective work.

Permission to Rest

My third response to the problem of task-scrolling is to eschew both micro-productivity and deep thinking and choose not to work ahead after all when I catch myself in a task-scrolling loop. While I want to be able to work ahead when it’s necessary, and I do believe that there are some things I should complete early so I can rest on my vacation, it’s important to balance work with rest. I’m endeavoring to keep exploring the nuance of what it means to be productive in an increasingly distracting world!

Curiosities

• My pal and previous Honing In guest Stephanie Graham created a podcast series called “31 Days of Black Business.” Tune into her podcast, noseyAF, to listen to interviews with Black business owners throughout the month!

• I enjoyed Kate Carpenter’s newsletter, “A Glimpse Into Dissertation Drafting.” If you’re curious about archival research and natural disasters (and the movie Twister), I recommend you check it out!

• Artist Lexi Mire Brantman’s “My phone belongs at the bottom of a river” sticker! Cute, funny, and also very relatable.

• One of my little hobbies is coming up with dog names (read a full list of the names we almost called Friday here). My most recent idea is “Pizza Party.” Please feel free to use it for your new adopted doggy pal!

I hope you found my reflection today to be helpful for your own task-scrolling moments! If you like to work ahead and have approaches you’d like to share, feel free to respond to this email and let me know. 

Take care and talk soon,

Dr. Kate

Email: [email protected]

Website: katehenry.com

Podcast: Honing In

Thanks for reading! If you found today’s newsletter helpful, I invite you to share it with your friends and colleagues.

If you’re not a paid subscriber, you can support me and access bonus newsletters and monthly co-working by upgrading your subscription below.