I Didn't Do the Thing Today
Letting Go of Productivity Guilt
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4.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
How to release productivity guilt and embrace the hidden values in our daily lives.
Any given day brings a never-ending list of things to do. There’s the work thing, the catch-up thing, the laundry thing, the creative thing, the exercise thing, the family thing, the thing we don’t want to do, and the thing we’ve been putting off, despite it being the most important thing. Even on days when we get a lot done, the thing left undone can leave us feeling guilty, anxious, or disappointed.
After five years of searching for the secret to productivity, Madeleine Dore discovered there isn’t one. Instead, we’re being set up to fail. I Didn’t Do the Thing Today is the inspiring call to take productivity off its pedestal—by dismantling our comparison to others, aspirational routines, and the unrealistic notions of what can be done in a day, we can finally embrace the joyful messiness and unpredictability of life.
For anyone who has ever felt the pressure to do more, be more, achieve more, this antidote to our doing-obsession is the permission slip we all need to find our own way.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Extraordinary Routines blogger Dore debuts with a welcome sanity check that advises kicking perfectionism to the curb. Giving readers permission to accept that there are "days we don't seize," she preaches sidestepping the "if only" spiral by trusting the ebb and flow of life, realizing that balance is a myth, giving up on jealousy-inducing comparisons (while seeking "enriching" ones), avoiding the trap of busyness-for-busyness's sake, taking an inventory of shaming "shoulds," and beginning each day with delight (try clotted cream on porridge for breakfast). To achieve accomplishments and avoid burnout, Dore recommends focusing attention by identifying what breaks it (laundry lists and social media are prime examples) while acknowledging the reality that distraction exists, and overcoming the toxicity of perfectionism, which fuels the inner bully. "What if instead of expecting ourselves to completely overhaul our lives, we picked just one thing? Instead of expecting ourselves to write a thousand words each morning, we focus on just one paragraph?" she asks. With the tone of a wise friend, Dore will lighten the mental overload of type A readers.
Customer Reviews
Absolutely necessary for every millennial to read this book.
This book addressed so many of my downfalls that led back to my childhood that my perfectionism is not what I wanted but what I was taught to want. I was taught to be perfect, to stay busy, to succeed. But I was never taught that it’s okay to be imperfect because I’m learning. That it’s okay to not be busy and enjoy the moment or rest. Or that it’s okay to fail, because in those moments of failure we learn the most.