I don’t know if this adds anything to your life or not.

But here are some productivity ideas I see people swear by every year, and then slowly abandon:

1. Rigid schedules that assume every day will go as planned
2. Daily discipline and willpower rituals
3. Lists of “Important but not urgent” tasks
4. Motivational systems that require constant self-monitoring and self-correction
5. Trying to become a more organized version of yourself

Very unlikely any of those work long-term for most people.

i.e. Anti-productivity.

What actually seems to work instead, at least from what I’ve seen and experienced:

* Reducing the number of chances you give yourself to feel like you failed
* Using a single calendar you actually trust instead of juggling tools
* Letting systems adapt automatically instead of forcing yourself to adapt
* Protecting a few essential habits rather than optimizing everything
* Focusing on frequency, not perfection

Most people do not fail because they lack discipline. They fail because repeated frustration damages their self-trust.

Each time a plan is broken, the mind records it as evidence of “who you are.” When that happens often enough, it becomes harder to move forward.

Tools help not because they’re smart, but because they take pressure off you. And when the pressure eases, action usually comes back on its own.

Again, I don’t know if this adds anything to anyone’s life.

But I’ve found that writing it out is clarifying. And this kind of exercise helps me get more done, if only because it clears away all the things I kept thinking I should do, but never really meant to.

If you haven’t done something similar for how you plan your time this year, it’s probably worth trying.

Even if the only result is letting go of a few obligations that only existed in your head.

That alone tends to free up more energy than most productivity tricks ever do.

Also:

I’ve been watching how my daughter plans her academic life, and it’s been interesting to see what she naturally does and what she avoids.

I’ll be paying attention to that this month.

And if I’m honest, it’s already changed how I think about planning for myself.

As for the ideas I mentioned above?

They’re not about becoming more disciplined or more organized.

They’re more about removing friction and letting fewer things compete for attention.

So if planning has ever felt heavier than it should, you’ll probably recognize a few things in there.

As for more on this, I’ll be sharing it here:

​https://www.instagram.com/irinavaleva_/​

(you’ll find it on my Instagram.)

Irina Valeva

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