10 Ways To Be More Productive Without Burning Out

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If you want to enjoy your work, you must take charge of your work. Do not take more than you can do. Do not try to impress other people.

You are not working to impress anybody. You are working to learn how to work.

If you are not enjoying your work anymore, if you are feeling tired, ‘Strive to reduce your obligations to the point where you can easily imagine accomplishing them with the time to spare. Leverage this reduced load to more fully embrace and advance the small number of projects that matter most.’

‘Our brains work better when we’re not rushing.’

‘Focusing intensely on a small number of tasks, waiting to finish each before bringing on something new, is objectively a much better way to use our brains to produce valuable output.’

‘If you fall behind on a project, update your estimate and inform the person who originally sent you the work about the delay.’

Be clear about what’s going on, and deliver on your promises, even if these promises have to change. Never let a project just drop through the cracks and hope it will be forgotten.’

Don’t rush your must important work. Allow it instead to unfold along a sustainable timeline, with variations intensity, in settings conducive to brilliance.’

Obsess over the quality of what you produce, even if this means missing opportunities in the short term. Leverage the value of these results to gain more and more freedom in your efforts over the long term.’

If you want more control over your schedule, you need something to offer in return. More often than not, your best source of leverage will be your own abilities.’

Obsessing over quality isn’t just about being better at your job. It’s instead a secret weapon of sorts for those interested in a slower approach to productivity.’

‘Quality matters, but if it becomes everything, you may never finish.’

Source:

Cal Newport (2024). Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

Intentional Leadership in Action

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Intentional leaders know who they are. They don’t pretend to be who they are not. They know that they are not perfect. And they are not afraid to admit their mistakes.

According to Jane A. G. Kise, ‘Intentional leaders have deep self-knowledge, and recognize that their strengths come with blind spots.’

‘Intentional leaders go beyond identifying their values; they ponder how they will put them into action.’

‘Intentional leaders explore how their areas of responsibility benefit from each side of the clarity/ambiguity lens.’

Intentional leaders keep trust in mind from the start of every new relationship, knowing it is easier to build trust than to rebuild it once mistrust permeates the workplace.’

‘Leaders need to empower those they are leading, not make them overdependent.’

‘People like to be recognized in different ways.’

‘Leaders who emphasize breath may assume that everyone thrives on every changing activities.’

‘Leadership requires looking outward.’

‘Humility allows us to not adjust acknowledge weaknesses but to manage them, which is key to developing leadership expertise.’

Source:

Jane A. G. Kise (2014). Intentional Leadership: 12 Lenses for Focusing Strengths, Managing Weaknesses, and Achieving our Purpose