I help leaders go from overwhelmed to getting their life back. Christ follower · Daily runner since 2017 · New articles Tue & Fri ↓
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A full calendar can look like discipline. Often it’s just a bridge with no joints.
Bridges are built with room to expand. Your week needs the same.
Why white space keeps your day from cracking:
misterproductivity.substack.…
Time blocking or to-do list? I use both.
My to-do list is a holding place. When I’m out and about, ideas pop into my head: someone I need to call, an idea for an article, an appointment I need to make. I can’t act on it right then, so it goes on the list.
I call it the Dead Sea to-do list.
Water flows into the Dead Sea, but it never flows out. It gets so salty that almost nothing can live in it.
Don’t let your to-do list become a Dead Sea.
Most people don’t fail vacation on the trip.
They fail it on the way out and the way back.
If you leave half-present and return in a panic, you didn’t take time off. You moved the chaos to a different zip code.
How to fix both ends:
misterproductivity.substack.…
Most people start the day by looking at the list.
That feels responsible. It’s often just reactive.
A list tells you what’s sitting there. Not whether it deserves your next 8 hours.
Ask 3 better questions first:
misterproductivity.substack.…
Houston. July. Heat index over 100.
Me? At my desk, listening to Christmas music.
Because a lot of "focus problems" are really state problems. A sour mind is a terrible place to do your best thinking.
Why joy isn't fluff:
misterproductivity.substack.…
Almost no one tells me, "Mark, I want to be more productive."
They say, "My to-do list keeps growing, and it's starting to scare me."
That's not a productivity problem. It's overwhelm.
4 steps to stop the spiral:
misterproductivity.substack.…
Life happens. Last Sunday my wife fell and broke her wrist on a morning walk. A week of caregiving taught me: know your non-negotiables, let the schedule flex, and let people help. What routine keeps you grounded when life happens? misterproductivity.substack.…
Leave your phone behind. Skip the headphones too. What shows up in the quiet might surprise you — your best ideas are waiting there. Worth a read: misterproductivity.substack.…
The first 90 minutes of your day set the trajectory for everything else. Most people hand them to notifications and other people's priorities.
Here's how to take them back: misterproductivity.substack.…
Fighting sleeplessness usually makes it worse.
You check the time. You do the math. Anxiety joins the problem.
Change the goal. Don’t force sleep. Give your mind something quiet and low-effort until rest returns.
misterproductivity.substack.…
You don’t need someone else’s system. You need one that fits your actual life.
5 AM clubs and app stacks work until life gets messy. That’s not failure. You were wearing someone else’s coat.
misterproductivity.substack.…
Most people don’t lack information. They lack a decision.
Busy people stay in motion. Productive people decide—then protect the work.
You don’t need a new system. You need a decision you won’t keep reopening.
misterproductivity.substack.…
Procrastination isn’t a personality flaw. It’s a bill you keep paying without looking at the statement.
You won’t eliminate it. Reduce it so it stops running the show.
What’s the one thing you’ve been putting off?
misterproductivity.substack.…
Unspoken expectations steal your peace.
If you don’t say when you’ll reply, people assume “now.”
Decide your window. Say it. Keep it. Reply in five minutes once and you’ve trained them forever.
misterproductivity.substack.…
So, @laMadeleine switched to Pepsi? This is my last visit here. I don’t go to restaurants that don’t serve @DietCoke.
My days of being a @premierleague fan may be coming to an end. I’m NOT subscribing to cable or any streaming service to watch matches (@USANetwork). I ❤️ @ManCity but USA is putting the best matches on their network instead of @peacock really stinks.