Meaningful Days, Not Just Productive

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So many people want to be more disciplined, on task, focused, productive. And I get that — I have the same desire.

But as someone who has put in a ton of very productive days (in addition to (ahem) less productive ones) … I’ve found that just being productive can feel very meaningless.

Imagine cranking away at all of your tasks, knocking them off, day after day. The task list doesn’t grow shorter, the email inbox keeps filling up, your calendar only gets more full as you get better at replying to people’s emails. So you crank away even harder, and your Done list looks impressive each day.

Satisfying? Sure, a bit. It can feel good to be focused and check things off the list. But it doesn’t feel very meaningful after a while. It feels like an endless hamster wheel — pointless. I’m far from the first person to make this observation. And yet … we’re often still striving for that as a goal.

I’d like to propose a different framework: meaningful days, not (only) productive ones. (And btw, if you’d like to substitute a different adjective, like “alive” or “joyful” or “magical,” go for it!)

What would make our days meaningful, and not just productive? Well, that’s for you to discover, of course. I don’t determine your meaning.

That said, here are some things that help me create meaningful days:

1. Set an intention: to have meaningful days. Remind myself of this focus at different times of the day.
2. Plan for meaning: what projects, tasks and work with others will feel meaningful? Block that into the calendar each day and each week.
3. Experiment to find what feels meaningful: As I do different kind of work, as myself if this feels pointless or meaningful. I find that doing things that serve others is a big one, as is creating community, taking care of myself and my loved ones, and doing things that feel expansive. But I’m still exploring!
4. Find meaning during, and after: As I’m doing the task, or the call, or responding to an email … I can look for what’s meaningful in that moment. Is there some way that I’m helping someone? Am I trying to make the world better? Does this feel expansive, loving, generous, compassionate? After the task, if I forgot to notice the meaning during the task, I can reflect on what made it meaningful. I might not do this all the time, but when I do, it helps.
5. Reconnect to the meaning when I’ve lost it: For a certain task or project, I will often lose track of why something is meaningful, and just try to do it because I think I should. When I recognize this — I’m just trying to get through it — I can try to reconnect to the meaning. I often have to do this multiple times, but also I often forget!
6. Practice opening my heart: For me, if my heart is open, it’s meaningful. What does that mean? Imagine how you feel when you give someone a generous gift and it lights them up, or you see a loved one having a nice moment, or you see a sunset that knocks you on your butt. That’s how an open heart feels. You feel loving, you feel open, you feel generous and grateful. I’ve found that I can practice opening my heart in any moment, increasing the meaning of that activity.
7. Be more appreciative of the spaces between: It’s not just the tasks that make a day meaningful — often it makes a huge difference if I pause and notice nature, and other people, and just notice what feels meaningful to me even when I’m not being productive. Am I enjoying a nice break, a nice walk, a good book, a nap, a good meal? That matters too. In the end, these aren’t the answers that will create meaning for you — but you might try them! See what works, see what feels expansive or meaningful to your heart.

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This post was previously published on Zen Habits. Uncopyright courtesy Leo Babauta.

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