There’s work that matters. Actions that move you forward, get you the results you’re after, and lead to lasting success.
And then there’s work that really doesn’t matter. It’s productive procrastination. A distraction.
Most of us spend most of our time on the work that doesn’t matter.
We convince ourselves it’s important. But we know, deep down, it’s not. We deceive ourselves.
A short story of self-deception (avoiding the work that mattered)
I was three years into building my first company, EDMProd.
We had thousands of people visiting the website each day. 50% of them came from search terms like “how to make electronic music” and “how to get started with music production”—showing they were beginners.
And we didn’t have any products for beginners.
Oof.
So, I decided to start work on a beginner’s music production course.
Over the course of the new few weeks (probably months—my memory is hazy) I spent my time planning out the course.
I refined and redesign the curriculum multiple times.
I did a bunch of “research.”
I thought about how it could be marketed.
I dreamed about how much money I could make if I really nailed the product and marketing.
And I didn’t do any of the work that actually mattered, until my business coach at the time pointed it out to me.
He said, “Why don’t you just create a basic curriculum (simplifying what you already have), write and design a simple landing page, and then ask for pre-orders?”
That was the work that mattered. Validating the idea, asking for money, seeing if it actually had legs.
Of course, I knew that. But I was avoiding it. Because it’s uncomfortable to launch something, ask for money, and expose yourself to criticism, judgment, and the potential of it completely flopping and no one buying it.
Fortunately it was a massive success beyond my wildest imagination. But it might never have happened if it wasn’t for someone telling me to stop mucking around and do the work that mattered. Who knows how long I would have remained in the cycle of self-deception and productive procrastination.
We are all capable of this self-deception
We tell ourselves we’re productive when we know we’re not.
We are busy but not effective. Generating lots of motion, but not moving forward.
We work on the complex, unnecessary work that makes us feel smart—makes us feel like we’re making progress—instead of the simple, uncomfortable work that truly generates results and moves us forward.
So how do we remove ourselves from this trap and do the work that matters?
3 Steps for Doing The Work That Matters
Step 1: Be Brutally Honest
The path out of self-deception and productive procrastination is to stop lying to yourself.
We can do a great job of suppressing the truth, especially when it helps us avoid discomfort. And when doing the work that doesn’t matter, you’re usually suppressing the truth that you already know: “This work is a distraction. I should really be doing this work instead—but it’s uncomfortable and I don’t want to think about it.”
And that’s where you need to start. With ruthless, brutal honesty.
Ask:
- What is the work I’m avoiding? (This is usually obvious)
- Why am I avoiding it? (List all the reasons)
- Am I scared of being judged? Looking like an idiot?
- Is it because I feel like an impostor?
- Am I too used to being comfortable? If I do the work that matters will it make me feel uncomfortable?
- Am I trying to look smart at the cost of being effective?
Step 2: Identify and get crystal clear on the work that matters
You’ve likely identified this in step one. But you want to double down and reach extreme clarity and simplicity.
You want to follow the straightest line possible to your objective. And trust me, there’s almost always a straight line. It’s just uphill, so it’s difficult to follow.
There’s likely one task or action or habit that needs to be worked on, more than anything else, to get to where you want to go.
And it’s also likely to be simple in nature, but uncomfortable.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to build a marketing agency targeting law firms.
You spend months planning out your offer. Taking notes. Doing “research.” Brainstorming.
You tell yourself you’re being “strategic” and that you need to think through everything, so that when it comes time to sell your services, you’ll do well.
This is not the work that matters.
The straightest line to your objective of getting clients? It’s to contact the potential clients. Cold call them. Book meetings.
This is the work that matters.
It is simple. It’s quantifiable. It will actually move you forward.
But it’s also uncomfortable. No one likes cold calling. You expose yourself to rejection in a way that doesn’t happen when you’re just brainstorming and planning by yourself.
Find the work that matters. You likely already know what it is. Convince yourself of its extreme importance and power.
Step 3: Do the work that matters. Don’t look back.
You know what you need to do. You know you need to stop wasting time on work that doesn’t matter.
And now it’s time to commit.
As you commit, you’ll find that the work that matters suddenly becomes a bit easier. Because there’s no other option. You have to do those cold calls. You have to write that book. You have to publish those videos.
You can’t hide in the complexities of work that doesn’t matter. You can’t engage in productive procrastination anymore.
You either do the work that matters, or you procrastinate. It’s binary. There’s no grey area. And that clear distinction makes it easier for you to do the work that matters. You can’t deceive yourself as easily now.
Commitment is about sticking with it, longer than a few days.
You will find that self-deception and doubt start to creep in. You look for any excuse to avoid the work that matters and re-engage in that which doesn’t matter. Ignore this and push forward.
You might not get results straight away, and you’ll be tempted to use this as an excuse to “go back to the drawing board.” Do not.
Instead, move in the direction of discomfort. The harder path is usually the right path.
Attack the problem, the goal, directly. Strike right at the center. Follow the straight line.
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