The Gift of Peripheral Productivity

As a high achiever, I’m always thinking of the next big thing I’m going to tackle.  Because of this, my biggest struggle is actually scheduling down time for myself.

I have so many things on my list of things I want to accomplish that I have developed the habit of using every last available moment for working on something productive. (This is definitely related to learning very early on to use all my available moments to get my school work done while competing in elite sports).  So in the few minutes per day that I’m not working full-time or spending quality time with my family, I try to jam in productive work on my writing (whether blog posts for this site, academic writing, or writing my first novel).

Recently, I came to a big realization.  I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts by Todd Henry called The Accidental Creative (in the episode called Shooting for the Three) and he was talking about the value of strategic slacking.  Strategic slacking is Todd Henry’s riff on the concept of productive procrastination – the idea that at times you need to step away from a big project or something you are working on in order to create the space in your mind for creativity to occur or new ideas to crystallize.

Strategic slacking, as Todd Henry defines it, is a concept that more closely fits with my jam-packed schedule than productive procrastination.  Todd Henry suggests that the types of strategic slacking you can work into your day include taking a long walk at the same time each day or listening to an album that really resonates with you.

This is something I can wrap my head around because it’s still moving towards a goal (to increase health) rather than just letting my mind wander (like when you’re watching television). Now I’m not saying that I never watch television… but I AM saying that television definitely doesn’t fall into my every day routine.

Strategically Slacking through Exercise

When I was younger and still competing competitively in volleyball, I spent a lot of time strategically slacking since I spent such a large portion of each day exercising.  Often after an intense workout or practice, I ended up coming up with really inspired ideas in relation to my academic work.

I have also always found the time between sleeping and waking – that moment when you are half-awake in a fuzzy, relaxed haze – are moments when my mind is most creative.  So in my university years, if I could schedule my classes to begin a bit later to allow myself to wake up naturally, I would find many creative ideas coming to me in those moments.

In my life right now, however, I don’t have much space for either productive procrastination or strategic slacking.  In order to make progress on the various big goals I have set for myself, I feel a sense of urgency to make each moment count. 

Gone are the days that I have the luxury of lying in bed in that wonderful haze to capture those fleeting moments of creativity; having children – as wonderful as they are – quickly ended this for me.  So… I have had to adapt to find new ways to create space for moments of creativity.

So Here’s My Riff: Peripheral Productivity

So here’s my riff on strategic slacking and productive procrastination…  I call it “peripheral productivity.”  To me, peripheral productivity has been really effective to help me move forward in rapid sprints on the various goals I have set for myself.

In the small pockets of time I’m able to carve out of each day for my priority projects, I choose one of my big goals to focus on; this mean that some days I spend 20 minutes writing my novel and then 30 minutes at a separate time drafting a new blog post (or maybe just one of these things depending on how my day goes).

So What about the “Peripheral” Part of Productivity?

Often in using my small chunks of time in this way, I find that I’m drawn to working on a variety of different projects and I often find that by working on the thing I feel most drawn to, my mind has time and space to work through some of the bigger, harder projects on my list.

So although in the last several months, I, along with my two amazing sisters, have been pouring time into getting Possibilify off the ground, I have also been able to complete a significant number of the revisions I’m making on my academic book manuscript (based on my PhD).  In addition, I have done a major clean out and reorganization of my home office!

By allowing myself the freedom to be productive on multiple project that differ in form and structure, I have been able to create the space I need to let my mind work through the roadblocks I encounter in some of the biggest to-dos on my list.

Creative writing is quite freeing compared to academic writing since when I’m writing my novel, I can just choose to totally change the ages of my characters and their personalities.  Academic writing can be more rigid and linear in form and I find that working down through my list of revisions can be both frustrating and rewarding.

In carving space out for creative reflection in this unconventional way, I have been able to make slow but steady progress on my various projects.  Switching between these focuses has also helped me cross-pollinate ideas from one area to the other. The only tip I would offer is that the more variety between the types of projects you’re working on, the more likely you will create the space you need to tackle the biggest and most difficult things on your list.

(So I know you might be thinking: “Kirsten, all your projects involve writing!”  Yep, I’m working on that!)

There are times, of course, when I need to focus all my available time and energy to complete one project because of a deadline.  Having the freedom to move to another short project for a time though often helps me get excited again, reinspired and keeps me motivated to get back to work on a bigger project that I might have hit a roadblock on.

So for those of you (like me) who don’t have much time for productive procrastination or may even have a hard time fitting in strategic slacking, maybe you can give this a try.

We would love to hear whether you think peripheral productivity might work for you… or maybe productive procrastination or strategic slacking are more your style.  Post a comment below to let us know!

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