topic: [[Doing]] people: #people/oliverburkeman created: 2025-03-17 *When you wake up thinking of all the things you have to do, and go to bed thinking of all you haven't accomplished, you're in productivity debt.* ##### what is it? _Productivity debt_ is the psychological burden that builds up when we consistently measure our worth by unfinished tasks rather than completed ones. It’s the feeling that no matter how much we do, it’s never enough—because the metric we use is always shifting forward. ##### why does it matter? This is a mindset, a trap that we place ourselves in. We never feel like we have accomplished enough, because of the plans we have laid for ourselves, and we only see what we **haven't** taken off our "To Do" list. We tend to not create a **Done** list, and see what we **have** done. If we focus first on identifying what is important to us, then what we want to do, then what we have actually done, we will have a much better sense of what is possible, and if there really is a gap. ##### This reminds me of This reminds me of [[the second arrow]]. It’s not just that we end the day with unfinished tasks—that’s inevitable. The second arrow is the psychological attack we launch on ourselves, reinforcing a sense of inadequacy rather than recognizing the nature of life itself: that _things will always remain undone_. ##### What would the opposite argument be? As my neighbor Rick Boss put it, _“Retirement is when you wake up with nothing to do and go to bed having only done half of it.”_ The lesson here is that the feeling of incompletion is not a sign of failure—it’s just life. Since you can’t do everything, _make a choice_, and let that be enough. After all, most of life consists of small, necessary actions that sustain us. **Reframing Question:** At the end of the day, instead of asking _“What didn’t I get done?”_, ask _“What did I move forward today?”_ tags: #note/idea | #on/productivity ##### Sources: Burkeman, O. (2024). _Meditations for mortals: Four weeks to embrace your limitations and make time for what counts_ (First american). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.