1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:23,799 Speaker 1: tip is that being productive doesn't always look productive. Good 4 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: ideas take time, and true productivity is measured over the 5 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: long haul, but often achieving a lot in the long 6 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: haul doesn't mean filling every minute. Today's tip comes partly 7 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: from Cal Newport's new book, Slow Productivity. In this book, 8 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: Cal talks about how to achieve great things without burnout. 9 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: He opens Slow Productivity with a tale of someone who 10 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: is important to me, Professor John McPhee of Princeton. Many 11 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: years ago, oh I took mcfee's famous nonfiction writing class. 12 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: I learned a lot from his discussions of his own 13 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: life as a working writer. One of mcfee's most famous 14 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: stories is about the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. After 15 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: compiling all his notes from trapsing around the forest, he 16 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: had some fairly serious writer's block, so we wound up 17 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: laying on a picnic table day after day for about 18 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:33,080 Speaker 1: two weeks. Finally, he realized that much of his reporting 19 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: could come back to one central character who could form 20 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: the spine of what became a long new Yorker piece. 21 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: Cal notes that if you looked at McFee during those 22 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: two weeks spending his working hours lying there seemingly doing nothing, 23 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: you would not have considered him to be terribly productive. 24 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: But that would be a mistake. McPhee has been incredibly productive. 25 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: He's written around thirty books over his lifetime, including one 26 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: that won the Pulitzer Prize, in addition to teaching undergraduate 27 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: writing for decades. To produce his best work, McPhee needed 28 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: time and space to think. Fortunately, he gave himself that space, 29 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: and over the decades, lots of good work followed. So 30 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: what can the rest of us take from this? One 31 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,959 Speaker 1: of the key realizations Cal tells us is that sometimes 32 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: good ideas take time. Yes we have deadlines. Yes, sometimes 33 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: you just have to move forward with something that isn't perfect. 34 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: Nothing is ever perfect, so if you are waiting for perfection, 35 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: you will never do anything. But it is okay to 36 00:02:58,120 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: sit with an idea for a while and think of 37 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: it and not necessarily go with the first thing. Maybe 38 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: the first thing can be incorporated into your later idea. 39 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: It is a stepping stone for getting there, but maybe 40 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: it is not it. See how it feels when you 41 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: realize that good ideas take time. That means you need 42 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: to give yourself time, and that means being okay with 43 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: not doing something that looks productive every single minute. Yes, 44 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: you've got emails. You could set up some more meetings, 45 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: or you could sit there, go outside, walk around, think, 46 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: talk to some colleagues about ideas. Even if it just 47 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: looks like you are hanging out in the office kitchen. 48 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: You might not come up with something brilliant the first time. 49 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: In fact, you probably won't or the second time or 50 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: a third time. But eventually, and when it comes to 51 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: executing on those good ideas, even a little bit does 52 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 1: add up. So just keep doing a little bit. Maybe 53 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: it doesn't always look productive, but that's okay. Real productivity 54 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: doesn't always look productive in the moment, but good ideas 55 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: take time, So embrace this slow productivity as cal calls it. 56 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: Over the long haul, it will be okay, and you'll 57 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: probably be happier in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks 58 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. 59 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to before breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 60 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura Arah at 61 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 62 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 63 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.