You Can Slack Despite The Best Productivity Hacks (and How to Change That)

Atiba Shaikh
Jul 10, 2017 · 3 min read

Just show up for work. Do it even if you don’t want to. Even when you think what you’re creating is awful.

You might have read similar phrases in countless blog posts. That it doesn’t matter if you are not feeling inspired, and what matters the most is being consistent. Doing it regularly, every day, without fail.

This advice has always clashed with one of my productivity principles: that of working when I am in the zone.

Once I learnt the concept of flow and discovered my peak times, I never wanted to work outside of those hours. After all, I could not produce my best work without being in the zone, so why try?

But lately I’ve noticed that sometimes, it doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, waiting for my peak time means wasting days, if not weeks and months. Sometimes, work sucks, even if it is something that I love doing.

The concept of flow is just one example in fact, although the one that I have paid the most attention to. There are other things, like inspiration or making it perfect, that you might be waiting for.

I’ve observed that simply making sure you have a prioritized list, doing proper preparation for the work ahead or even being excited about work doesn’t always makes you immune to procrastination.

Despite having everything working in your favor, you can still manage to find excuses. You can still waste precious time slacking.

Think about it: How many times have you wanted to work, even felt inspired, yet ended up procrastinating? How many times have you found yourself alert and focused, in the zone, but not doing the right things?

How many times was your peak time consumed by mindless scrolling or doing busywork instead of creating something useful?

Why does this happens? I don’t have a clear answer to that. Sometimes, you are working on the wrong things. Or, you are doing the right things in the wrong ways.

Often, you haven’t set your priorities straight and get carried away by distractions. Occasionally, you are just lazy, without having any reason to be.

Finally, you might be waiting for inspiration. You want to feel more motivated. Or, like me, you know the concept of flow and believe you can’t work outside of it.

How to get out of this situation? First, make sure you are following some basic productivity rules such as:

  • Prioritizing your most important tasks in advance (by using a weekly and daily to do list, for example)
  • Getting rid of any obstacles or distractions before you start (think: an unclean desk, notifications on your phone)
  • Knowing exactly what to do (instead of ‘write a blog post’, make it specific with what topic to write about)

But after you are done with all this, and it’s time to work, you should, well, get to work!

Because this is the point where you can screw up despite everything else. Where even otherwise productive tasks like reaching inbox zero or making a to do list become a distraction.

This is the place where you need to focus on your most important task and forget everything else. And you need to do this every single day. You have to stay consistent and do the work without waiting for inspiration or your zone or whatever.

This showing up part is what separates amateurs from professionals. It is what enables you to reach your true potential. It can ultimately make or break your success.

Summing it all up: Use all the hacks or tools you need, but don’t forget to do the actual work. Keep a healthy balance between producing your best work vs simply showing up. Seek inspiration, but don’t make it a compulsory condition to work.

I am not too good at this myself, but I have made a start. For me, staying consistent means publishing a blog post every week. What does it means for you?


Like this story? Give everyone, including me, a thumbs up by a quick recommend 💚


Atiba Shaikh

Written by

22 year old medical student & writer. Using curiosity and a problem solving approach to level up in life.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade