Three productivity myths and what you should be doing instead
As someone who needs to get things done , Author Donna McGeorge shares her top three productivity myths and their antidotes .
We ’ ve been led down a garden path when it comes to productivity . We ’ ve been told , “ hard work will get you ahead ”, that we need to be “ more productive ”, and that “ urgent and important ” is what we should aspire to . And don ’ t even get me started on stretch goals ! As a productivity expert and author , I ’ ve seen , read and researched them all .
HARD WORK WILL GET YOU AHEAD
1 We ’ ve all had those days / weeks where we feel like we have been flat out , and yet we get to the end of the week and still feel we haven ’ t achieved anything . Anyone can work harder and still not feel accomplished or productive . It ’ s a work ethic that has been proven time and time again to not lead to success ( whatever that is ). We are setting ourselves up for failure and potentially poor mental health when we attach our success and results to the level of “ hard work ” we are putting in .
WHY IT MATTERS When someone links their self-worth to their career or work , their successes and failures directly affect their self-worth . This can lead to an identity crisis if they lose their job , or don ’ t achieve as much or as quickly as they think they should . Janna Koretz , the founder of Azimuth Psychological , warns that tying self-worth to a career can make it more challenging to overcome career hurdles . When unexpected events happen , such as layoffs or a recession , it can lead to depression , anxiety , and substance abuse .
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD w Recognise that success is not determined by what you do . Identify other aspects of your life where you are also successful , e . g . as partner , parent , or friend . w Use the Pareto principle to identify that 20 % of your tasks will get you 80 % of your results and focus on those first .
46 Executive PA | Autumn Issue 2025