The 3 Building Blocks of Effortless Productivity — How to Work Hard Every Single Day

Why you don’t work as hard as you want to, and what to do about it.

Photo by Simon Abrams

I used to be the kind of person who starts many different projects and never finishes them. I would get really excited about something and immediately get to work, riding the initial enthusiasm. “This is it, this is the thing I will spend every waking hour on until it becomes successful,” I thought. I started picturing myself as my heroes, crushing my goals every day, and earning my place at their side.

But that was never what happened.

Instead, I would reach what marketing guru Seth Godin calls The Dip — the point when everything becomes muddled and hard, and nothing is happening despite your enthusiasm.

I desperately wanted to put in the hours. But as the resistance grew, it became harder and harder to do so. The outcome I wanted suddenly seemed less urgent. Despite being a long way from success, it was challenging to fill up my days with things to actually do. Eventually, I would always quit and move on to something else.

I started to question myself. Am I lazy? Do I not have what it takes? Will I end up a failure for the rest of my life? I remember thinking it shouldn’t have to be this…