Why Productivity Tools Don't Work

I’ve struggled with productivity lately. I used to have a very structured day at an office where x, y, and z were expected of me.

It was work I could do with my eyes closed and since there was virtually no risk of failure, work just ‘happened.’ But now that I call the shots and create my own flow, productivity Is an ever-fleeting thing. Some days I have it. Other days, it all goes to heckle in a handbasket.

[Related: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time]

Maybe you feel this way too, regardless of whether you work in an office or run your own company or work for yourself. If you do, I want to share my revelation with you that literally dawned on me this morning while working on a presentation on, of all things, productivity:

Productivity tools don’t work if you don’t first work on your mindset.

I got to thinking of my mindset as I hesitated to do certain tasks and came up with a list of mindsets and ways of thinking that, if ascribed to, can change how we work. Here are my top three:

1. “What would I absolutely love to get done today? What would make me feel immensely proud?”

Suddenly, instead of looking at an endless to-do list and trying to cross as many things off the list as possible – and thus, multitasking (i.e. not doing anything well)- I was in the flow of working well on that one thing. Result: I researched, outlined and created the presentation and worksheets for the aforementioned productivity workshop in 3 hours. Total. From start to finish.

[Related: Productivity Hacks: Why 4 a.m. Is the Best Time to Work]

2. “If I only had 5 minutes, what would I work on?

Ok, I know you have more than 5 minutes, but instead of approaching your work in the mindset of “I have an 8 hour workday to accomplish this,” why not go so far in the other direction? In other words, why not limit the amount of time you have so much that you end of hyperfocusing on the most important thing to you for those 5 minutes. I bet you’ll be surprised by what you can come up with. I employed that with this blog post (except I used 10 minutes as the barometer and I’ve written everything from scratch up this point in those ten minutes.)

After you try the 5 minute version, you can expand to 45-60 minutes and work in smaller chunks like that. You’ll be able to do it because you’ll be aligned with what it is that you actually want to do and what actually matters for your job and business instead of busy work. (Disclaimer: it’s a whole other post to talk about expectations of others in the workplace versus what you’re able to have autonomy over- I totally get it. But try this with something you DO have autonomy over.)

3. “Make it painful if you don’t do it.”

Let’s face it- not every task is a wonderful rose-colored glasses affair. (Read: TAXES for me.) But sometimes things have to get done and #1 and #2 above won’t cut it. So get an accountability plan going. Tell someone you trust that you will do X by a specific date and time and then send them your results at the appointed time. Seriously, it’s awkward to have to tell your accountability partner that you once again didn’t do whatever it was. Bonus: An extra painful dose could be to make that accountability buddy your boss!

So as you can see, these are just a few mindsets that transcend ubiquitous “tools” like “Block out your calendar” or “Schedule time when you can check email” (or other email hacks). Once you have the right mindset – and it takes some time- you can then use the tools to maintain productivity. Mindset comes first and tools support it.

This article first appeared in IvyExec.com on 6/1.

Jill Ozovek (CPC, ACC) is a career advisor and the brains behind Jill Ozovek Coaching, her coaching practice. She helps transition female millennials who have had a career or two after college into the job they were born to do.She loves travel, old maps and leading friends and colleagues on walking food tours in Queens, NY in her spare time. Follow her on Twitter @jozovek.