The Anti-Productivity Guide

Hey—

Last month I hit rock bottom:
I made a spreadsheet… to optimize my lunch breaks.

Color-coded. Microwave heatmaps. A formula for peak chewing time.

And at some point, I sat there—fork in one hand, Google Sheet in the other—and thought:

What if all this “being productive” is actually making me worse at what matters?

So I ran a little experiment.
I started doing less. On purpose.
And weirdly… I started getting more of the right things done.

The Burnout Flex Is Dead

I used to wear “I’m slammed” like a crown.
Inbox full. Calendar blocked. Energy? Nonexistent.

But here’s the kicker:

Over 745,000 people died in 2016 from overwork.
(WHO study, not a wellness blog)

Clocking 55+ hours a week literally increases your chance of heart disease and stroke. And still, 80% of us walk around with “Productivity Anxiety” like we’re one Slack ping away from salvation.

The whole system’s broken. So I started looking for another way.

Enter: Strategic Inefficiency™

This isn’t slacking off. This is intentional slack in your system.

The kind that lets real work (the deep, creative, surprising kind) actually happen.

It looks like:

• Wandering thoughts

• Blank notebooks

• Walks without podcasts

• Coffee with people outside your “lane”

• Saying “no” when your brain screams “more!”

Boston Consulting Group ran a study:
Forced their consultants to stop working predictably each week.

The result?
+72% work satisfaction
+79% work-life balance
(And probably fewer rage quits)

What I Tried (And What Actually Worked)

I ran my own anti-productivity pilot. One month. Four simple rules:

1. The 80% Rule
I stopped trying to hit 100% output. I planned to hit 80%. The rest? Margin. Cushion. Space.

2. Unstructured Thinking Blocks
30 minutes. No devices. No goals. No “optimizing.” Just thoughts doing laps in my head.

3. The Impossible Deadline Pause
When a task felt too tight, I didn’t push—I paused. 15-minute break. No guilt.

4. Surprise Inputs
Talked to people in totally different fields. Read random articles. Took new routes. Got ideas I’d never Google.

The result?

More clarity. Less stress. And 3 creative ideas I’d been chasing for months finally showed up.

How You Can Try It

Here’s your starter kit:

→ No-Productivity Zones
Block off 30 minutes this week for doing… nothing useful.
Walk. Doodle. Lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling.

→ Productive Constraints
Give yourself creative limits:

• “Explain this idea in exactly 50 words”

• “Finish in 25 minutes”

• “Don’t use your go-to tools”

Constraints = fuel, not fences.

→ Recovery = Work
Sleep, gym, naps, walks—these aren’t breaks from work.
They are work.
Just not the kind that looks impressive on Slack.

→ Inject Randomness
Talk to someone outside your bubble.
Read something unrelated to your field.
Swap routines. Shake the snowglobe.

The Real Job Isn’t Doing More

It’s doing the right things well.

We chase productivity because we can’t tell the difference between motion and progress.

But the magic—the insight, the breakthrough, the leap—that usually shows up when you stop trying so hard to catch it.

Try This Today

Take one meeting or task on your calendar and cut it in half.
Use that freed-up time to think—no phone, no plan, no guilt.

Until next time,

Ajay