Are you a (productivity) spoiled child_
Productivity

Are You A (Productivity) Spoiled Child?

Have you ever been at a child’s birthday party? If the children are young enough, there is an almost-guaranteed scenario that will play out when it comes time for the cake.

Some child will want the piece with all the frosting flowers, and it will be claimed by someone else. And instead of accepting another piece, the child will sulk and refuse to eat any cake at all.

This type of behavior isn’t limited to spoiled children at birthday parties. I have seen full-grown mature adults approach their productivity the same way.

The Birthday Cake Syndrome

What happens with adults is that the adult will say that they can’t work on what they really want to work on; therefore there is no reason to do anything.

Or they will tell themselves that the little bit of time they have is no worth because large chunks of progress can’t be made: therefore there is no reason to do anything.

I call this the Birthday Cake Syndrome, because like a spoiled child refusing cake, the victim of the syndrome doesn’t take advantage of what is offered.

The Danger of Birthday Cake Syndrome

There are two dangerous components of birthday cake syndrome: a refusal to accept what is, and a dream of a perfect time. Both of these are rooted in unreality.

Living in a fantasy world is not a good way to be productive.

Eating The Cake You Have

So let’s take a look at the two scenarios: the first being not being able to work on what you want to, and the second being that you don’t have a large amount of time.

First scenario: what to do when your plans don’t work

The first scenario, where you can’t do what you want, so you use that as an excuse to not do anything…well, I see that quite a bit in my algebra classes. My response to my students: get over it and get to work. You’re here now, and you should work where you are instead of wishing it away.

(Harsh, I know. I have been told by my students that I am not a sympathetic teacher)

The mature thing to do is to acknowledge that you can’t do what you want, and then figure out what you can do.

Let’s take a look at a specific scenario. You are in the middle of an important work project when the call comes in that your child is sick and you need to take them home. Sure, it is frustrating to leave when you are in the groove. Sure, it is frustrating to know that you will have to finish on time anyway, because your client doesn’t care that your child is contagious. So instead of being frustrated, acknowledge that it is and figure out what you can do. You may not be able to access the graphics for the presentation, but maybe you can proof the document that has been put together by your colleagues. You may not be able to collaborate physically, but you could set up a virtual collaboration. By applying some ingenuity, you can continue to move forward, instead of sulking that you can’t move forward in the way you had once envisioned.

Second scenario: what to do when you don’t have a lot of time

Rome wasn’t built in a day, they say. It was built over the course of many years, a building at a time. So you must approach everything that you are trying to build.

My students complain that they don’t have enough time to get out their computers and get to work on the practice problems. I point out to them that in the time they spent complaining, they could have had their machines out, booted up and ready to go (I will also point out to them that I told them to do this at the beginning of class and that failure to do so just adds to their homework load…again, I am not considered a sympathetic teacher).

If you can find the pockets of time, just little bits, and find ways to make progress in those pockets, your results will far outstrip what you would produce in those few-and-far-between times when you have a large chunk of time to dedicate to a task.

Hmmm….tortoise? Hare? Sometimes the old tales hold true.

Let’s look at a specific scenario (true, this one): I have been trying to complete a knitted jacket for three years. I never want to haul it out because I can’t do a lot of knitting on it. This is the third one I have made, the first two being completed in 6 weeks apiece. The trouble is that I am waiting to have time to sit down and figure out where I am and then knit a whole bunch. As a consequence, nothing gets done. What I need to do is to write where I am, and spend five minutes a day knitting on it, making sure to leave notes as to where I am in the pattern so I can pick it up any time with confidence. If I had spent 5 minutes a day on it, it would have been done years ago. Literally.


Next week we’re going to look at finding hidden pockets of time and putting them to use.

Your assignment is to look at the things you aren’t making progress on and see if you are being a spoiled child about your productivity. Are you refusing to do things when you have time because you don’t “feel like it” or because you can’t work on something you know is important? Are you refusing to do something because you don’t “have enough time”?

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Image by daveynin. Licensed under Creative Commons. Text added.