What I’ve Learned In One Minute…

Hi Friends,

This week has been quite strange in terms of what I've been learning and figuring out. It's definitely been a week of ups and downs, but also a time of reflection, learning and understanding where distraction comes from and where capability comes from. I've decided to split it into three of the biggest things.

Job versus Career

The difference between a job and a career showed itself very clearly to me this week, specifically in the way people carry themselves in the work they do. I was walking through a grocery store and you see the perfect example of this. On one side, there was a girl stacking shelves and she was doing everything so intentionally, packing the boxes neatly, putting everything to the front so it was easy to see. On the next aisle was a guy who just put things on top of each other, and when something dropped he'd make sure it looked okay enough on the shelf. He didn't even wipe the shelf down because he knew the boxes being placed on top would hide the dust anyway.

One person was doing a job. The other was training for a career.

It's the small stuff that people don't notice that ends up taking you far, because you carry that sense of care into every other area of your life. It says more about your personality and character than almost anything else. The person who treats the smallest task like a career is the same person who will treat a big task very well. It reminds me of the parable where Jesus talks about how if you can't be trusted with very little, you can't be trusted with much. It's giving attention to the things that seem insignificant to others that builds a foundation of strong character.

The power of only having one thing to do

This is something I've been appreciating for a while now, probably the past two to three months. Whenever I look at my checklist and see ten things to do, I immediately start working out which one to pick first, second, third, and before I've even started I'm already tired. But whenever I have one or two things to do, it's simple. Do this one first, then this one next, and then the day is done.

There's something about only having one specific priority in a day that lets you be fully focused without being derailed. And mentally, when that one thing is done, you feel done. I've found that whenever I have a lot to do, even after finishing five or six tasks, I struggle to reward myself because I feel like I'm still so far away from being complete. And because of that you either end up procrastinating because the end feels too far away, or you become anxious because of how behind you feel.

But if you can give yourself one big priority thing in the day and actually get it done, it feels like the day has been won. The question is, how do you convince yourself of that when life doesn't always allow you to only have one thing?

Getting good at productivity

I've had to remind myself of this every five or six months. Being productive is just eliminating distractions. That's it. Making the task as friction free as possible. The easiest way to be productive is to eliminate everything pulling you away from what you need to do.

I noticed this most recently through my AirPods. Whenever I put them in at home, I become instantly unproductive because they put me straight into consumption mode, music, podcasts, entertainment. I've started leaving them off completely when I need to get work done at home. It sounds small but the difference has been noticeable.

The tricky part is that once you see it, you see it everywhere. Everything around you that involves consuming or taking in input becomes a potential distraction. But you can't just live in a bubble, oblivious to everything around you, only focused on the task. If you do that you end up missing out on what life is actually offering you in that season.

There's a difference between a productive day and a lock in day. Between a productive season and a lock in season. You can't lock in for six months to a year without missing out on a formative period of your life. The benefits might be real, the money made, the goals achieved, but if it comes at the cost of that time you have to ask yourself whether the trade is actually worth it. And the truth is you're never going to find a perfect balance, because you're always going to want to do more. That feeling of completion and productivity is addictive.

If any of these three things resonated and you want to go deeper on them, look out for an upcoming episode of With Intention next week where I'll be getting into all of it.

TL;DR

Three things this week. How you treat the smallest tasks says everything about how you'll handle the biggest ones. Giving yourself one clear priority in a day makes it easier to feel like the day was actually won. And being productive isn't about discipline, it's about eliminating distractions. The hard part is knowing when to lock in and when to just live.

WITH INTENTION

I do a podcast about learning how to be intentional in everyday life, here's what this week's episode is about:

This week's guest is Aarav Nanda, a content creator and engineering student who built a personal brand to 130,000 followers and then chose to start over. We get into the raw reality of creativity, the pressure to perform, and what it actually costs to stay true to yourself while building something in public.

Listen to it on Spotify

WINS & LESSONS

Win:

The podcast is coming out this Wednesday and I cannot wait. This is something I've been wanting to share for a while now and I'm excited to keep pursuing it.

Lesson:

Time is precious, especially with the people you care about. Don't take it for granted.

QUESTION FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Are you treating the things that matter most to you like a job or like a career?

Alright that's it from me.

In a bit,

Motheo