I Wasted Three Hours Today

Hi friend,

I need to tell you about my day today because I'm honestly frustrated with myself.

I wasted three hours.

Not scrolling social media. Not watching TV. Not doing "nothing."

I wasted three hours doing things that felt productive but accomplished absolutely nothing.

I reorganized my task list. I updated my project tracker. I read articles about productivity. I planned out my week in detail. I researched tools that might make my workflow better.

And at the end of those three hours, I looked at what I'd actually done and realized: I hadn't moved anything forward.

I just rearranged the work instead of doing it.

And this isn't the first time. I do this all the time.

I spend more time planning the work than doing the work. More time organizing my approach than actually executing. More time thinking about how to be productive than being productive.

And it all feels like work. That's the trap.

When I'm reorganizing my task list, I feel busy. When I'm researching the perfect system, I feel like I'm making progress. When I'm planning out my week, I feel productive.

But I'm not. I'm just procrastinating in a way that looks like work.

And I think I do this because planning feels safer than doing.

When I'm planning, I can't fail. When I'm organizing, I can't mess up. When I'm researching, I don't have to face whether my work is actually good enough.

But when I'm actually doing the work? That's when I find out if it's working. That's when I have to face the possibility that it's not good enough. That's when the uncertainty hits.

So I plan instead. I organize instead. I prepare instead.

And I tell myself "I'm just getting ready to do great work."

But really? I'm avoiding doing the work at all.

I saw this pattern clearly today because I had one task that actually mattered. One thing that would move my project forward.

And instead of doing it, I spent three hours doing everything around it.

And now it's the end of the day, I'm tired, and the one thing that mattered still isn't done.

Here's what I'm realizing: there's always going to be something to organize, plan, or optimize.

Always another system to try. Always another way to structure things. Always another article about doing things better.

But none of that is the work.

The work is the thing you're avoiding by doing all of that.

And I think we know this. But we do it anyway because it feels productive enough that we can convince ourselves we're making progress.

We're not.

We're just making the actual work feel more manageable by doing everything except the actual work.

So here's what I'm asking myself - and maybe you need to ask yourself too:

What's the one thing that would actually move something forward today?

Not organize it. Not plan it. Not research it. Actually move it forward.

For me, it's writing the thing I've been avoiding. The thing I spent three hours not doing while I reorganized my entire workflow.

And I'm going to do it now. Not after I plan it better. Not after I set up the perfect environment for it. Now.

Because I wasted three hours today, and I don't want to waste tomorrow the same way.

What's your version of this?

What are you organizing, planning, or preparing instead of actually doing?

Do that thing. Not tomorrow. Not after you've planned it perfectly.

Today.

Until Next Week
Lorenc - Founder of Success Skill