On being productive with little or no motivation

On Tuesday I, like a large portion of the country, was a ball of energy and nerves throughout the day as the USA vs. Germany World Cup game approached. Generally I am pretty good at channeling my excited energy (or at least aware of the need to do this, which is half the battle) but by 2pm I had, had enough.

My energy made me move quickly and by lunch I had knocked out all of my essential to-do list along with a solid chunk of items that really weren't needed until later in the week. I had plans to leave work a little early and watch the game with friends but I was mentally leaving my desk well over an hour before it was reasonably acceptable to bow out of the office.

 

So what did I do?

 

I put on my headphones, turned up Spotify, and took almost ten compliance assessments.

Why?

1. This kept me productive since these assessments needed to be completed
2. This didn't require tons of concentration and was virtually mindless
3. This seemed to speed the afternoon along

Not that a compliance assessment is something that you should do totally mindlessly. But when your energy is lagging or your head is in another place sometimes it's best to work on projects that require little critical thinking rather than pushing for something more rigorous.

Now, what to do this afternoon as the three day holiday weekend approaches... 

why I like lists so much

Once during an interview (and yes, I was offered the job) I was asked how I manage stress/multiple projects. My answer was that I am constantly making lists. To-do lists for work, to-do lists for the weekend or the evening after work, lists of deliverables for a project, lists for the foods I eat in a day when I’ve had one too many cookies at the office around the holidays or queso over the weekend (but really). 

I remember thinking to myself after the interview how silly my answer was but now when I think about it, this is actually a very real and important way I stay organized and sane throughout the day; it’s just simple and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Jotting down notes on what I need to accomplish reminds me that I actually have things I need to do. It’s not that I would forget this but I have caught myself jumping off a three hour stretch of back-t0-back conference calls and almost naturally getting sidetracked. A thoughtful to-do list keeps me organized and focused.  

Without an organized list to keep me on track below is the type of pattern I would often find myself falling into after jumping off a couple, long conference calls without organization. Maybe you can relate...

• Being a bit mentally drained from a stretch of calls, provided nothing major was crashing and burning I would usually click back and forth between my email and my calendar once or twice (or three or four or eight times); literally just clicking back and forth, this must calm a bit of ADD fueled anxiety but also wasted a bit of time and made me look crazy to anyone hoovering over my shoulder. 
• Then I would usually open up Twitter and see what was going on in the world over the past few hours during my calls.
• From here I would usually open up an HBR or Business Insider article I found on Twitter (or a BuzzFeed list, let’s be honest) and I would get easily lost in the content for twenty minutes if I didn’t have the wherewithal to remind myself that I actually had a brief due or a project kickoff in an hour to prep for or some other deliverable. 
• Somewhere in all that I would have gotten up to run to the restroom and get a glass of water and probably engaged in about 10 minutes of chatter with coworkers or my manager. 

I am not advocating people work non-stop without a break all day. In fact I am a big believer in the multiple studies that argue the human mind works best with breaks. Many suggest that it’s best to work increments of ninety minutes followed by a short break, then ninety more minutes, and so on. It’s just that if I don’t have something to refer back to to keep myself on track I find that after a short break I can lose focus. 

Is this what everyone does? Am I exaggerating the value of writing a short and sweet to-do list or perhaps I am simply late to acknowledging that this tactic I’ve employed for my entire life really is hugely valuable. Perhaps at the very least I’ve given a good, simple suggestion for an interview question.