I love being productive. I love getting things done. Would that make me a productivity guru? I don’t know if I would go that far, but I really am a huge advocate for living your life as productively as possible – and passing on those tips and tricks to you all.
But that’s not to say that productivity gurus are perfect; not by any means. They make mistakes all the time, and what better way than to judge them through a Hardly Hamilton Listicle? See if you agree (or disagree!) with these five mistakes that I think all productivity gurus will make at one point or another.
They view life as a checklist
Have I written my shopping list? Tick!
Have I created a new Instagram Reel? Tick!
Have I called my siblings? Tick!
Have I acquired a mortgage? Tick!
Look, it’s great to have to-do lists. We all love that feeling of ticking something off your to-do list; personally I’ve written about that extensively whenever I’ve mentioned my Bullet Journal. But at some point you have to admit that enough is enough and calm down with the checklists. The idea that your life won’t be perfect unless you’ve done x, y and z by a certain age needs to be put to rest.
Dude, just, like, slow down, okay?
They ignore their friends and family
Life gets super busy. Sometimes you do actually have to prioritise work or other commitments over your personal life, and it’s really annoying.
What’s more annoying is when a so-called productivity guru puts their work first every time. When they ignore their loved ones every time. If you keep doing that, we’re just going to stop calling.
They have a weird relationship with productivity
Everyone’s going to have a different definition of the word, but I personally think that we should be productive so that we can get things done quicker or more efficiently because that will lead to the payoff we’re looking for: to have more time to ourselves. That way, we can spend more time doing what we love. Take this as an example: I love having a tidy house, but hate hoovering. Obviously, then, it made sense to buy a robotic hoover so that it could do the cleaning for me.
Productivity gurus often view productivity as a way to have more fun while at work, which just isn’t the case. It’s a means to an end, not the other way around.
They think that their advice is gospel
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
They’ll say that while judging you for not following their advice. I’ve made no secret of the fact I love being productive and that I love sharing any tips and tricks that I’ve got, but you should never take my word as gospel. Do your own research and work out what works best for you as you come up with your own, personalised, productivity system.
They’re super judgey
They just think that they’re the best, don’t they? That everyone should love the work that they do and that everyone should have a great time doing it.
I’m one of the biggest advocates for finding a profession that you genuinely love, but am aware that for some, it just can’t be done. For some, they are forced into working a job that they hate going to. For others, maybe they really do treat work as just a way to make money and nothing more. Get the 9-5 done to enjoy the 5-9.
Do I agree with that mantra? Heck, no. But should we judge people for having different relationships to their work than ours?
Heck. No. Mind your own business.
What other mistakes do you think that productivity gurus make? Sound off in the comments below!
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