I Didn't Do The Thing Today: On letting go of productivity guilt

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Maybe you don’t start the day by ‘eating the frog’ or doing the most unpleasant thing first, but maybe you start the day with something that’s pure pleasure instead. There’s a fantastic example in the book, about a chef who starts the day with a bowl of porridge with a dollop of clotted cream on top, along with some brown sugar, and he just thinks that’s the best way to start the day because by breakfast, he’s already won the day! A perfect example of prioritizing delight over dread. It means letting go of expectations, or at least holding them much more lightly and letting things surprise us, which can then allow us to explore what we really want, not just what we think we “should” be doing. 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.

Ultimately, Madeline says; “Maybe we can’t expect to enjoy every day, but we can find it endearing. When we reach the end of the day, instead of berating ourselves, what we did or didn’t do, we can be charmed by the ordinary moments of living and what our days can bring.” Full Book Name: I Didn’t Do the Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt to Embrace the Hidden Value in Daily Life One idea that I liked very much was from David Cain. "What if, for a whole year, you stopped acquiring new things or taking on new persuits. Instead, you return to abandoned projects, stalled hobbies, unread books, and other neglected intentions, and go deeper with them than you ever have before." This is like what I usually do for Lent, but on steroids. I'm not sure I could do it for a whole year, but I am inspired to try it for Lent. Though I'm already listing exceptions.

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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."--Provided by publisher. 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.

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, the thing we’ve been putting off (despite it being the most important thing). Even on days where we get a lot done, the thing left undone can leave us feeling guilty, anxious, or disappointed. She has contributed columns and features to Sunday Life, BBC WorkLife, ArtsHub, 99u, Womankind, Kill Your Darlings, The Design Files, ABC Life and more. Madeleine regularly conducts life experiments and hosts events to explore how creativity isn’t just something we do, but how we approach our lives.PDF / EPUB File Name: I_Didnt_Do_The_Thing_Today_-_Madeleine_Dore.pdf, I_Didnt_Do_The_Thing_Today_-_Madeleine_Dore.epub Deep, thoughtful, gently instructive, nourishing.' - Clare Bowditch, author of Your Own Kind Of Girl 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. A radical masterpiece ... While many books insist on changing your life, this one invites you to deepen and expand it.' - Mari Andrew, author of My Inner Sky

It’s a great reminder that we get to choose how to live. It’s quite a freeing idea. Taking this approach involves a little bit more play, and wonder and curiosity.i loved this book and think anyone would get some kind of wisdom out of it. i'm a hugely productive person, well-read and also a curious learner. it's the book i wish i wrote myself and yet i'm glad dore has already put this out into the world. and what an inviting and gorgeous cover! I read this book with the hope of letting go of productivity guilt. I wasn't persuaded. I was also amazed how Dore was able to write a whole book on this topic. She did a podcast, interviewing a lot of artists about their rituals. The book included references to some of those interviews, but focused more on her generalizations from that experience. I would have that this would have made it stronger. But I would have liked more detail about her interviews.