A couple of centuries ago some people were thinking the industrial revolution would lead to the end of toil and strife. Automation would bring shorter workdays, fewer work weeks, and an abundance of free time. Email would allow people to attend fewer meetings and spend more time outside the office. It would be a new golden age.
Alas, in practice most of the advances just resulted in more work. Culturally, we traded greater productivity for a higher material standard of living rather than greater freedom. We do more for the sake of more.
This is so ingrained in our psyches that many can’t even grasp the idea of retirement at any age… “You don’t work? But… what do you do all day?!”
To wean myself off the drug of perpetual productivity, I started asking how I could accomplish as little as possible.
An Unproductive Life
After 7 years of early retirement, how is that that I have been able to accomplish so little?
Here are my 10 best tips for leading an unproductive life.
10. Procrastinate
How to stop procrastinating is a really popular Google search term. I dunno, maybe stop spending time on Google?
I’ve been a superstar procrastinator for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I embraced it that I was able to accept who I truly am.
Procrastination is a really powerful life skill. That thing you are procrastinating is probably just a meaningless soul-sucking task that has no real value. If you don’t do it, it may just go away. (Does not apply to your tax return.)
Productivity can wait.
9. Travel the World
Ordering drinks at the poolside bar in a fancy resort is nice every now and then, but there is another variety of travel that is both unpredictable and unproductive, the sort that Rick Steves describes in his recent book:
“Ideally, travel broadens our perspectives personally, culturally, and politically. Suddenly, the palette with which we paint the story of our lives has more colors.”
― Travel as a Political Act
Traveling with an open schedule and unplanned destinations is a fun and rewarding way to paint a brighter picture, and makes it difficult to accomplish anything besides personal growth. Or something like that.
8. Toss out the alarm clock
Every day it seems like there is another productivity guru sharing how they wake up at 3 am to achieve maximum productivity. Sleep is for the lazy and the weak. Like me!
I definitely sacrificed hours of sleep during my career, either to hit a deadline or because my brain just wouldn’t turn off. A pot of coffee in the morning helps you make it to the morning meetings… meaning we can trade health and longevity for an atta-boy at the office.
Nowadays, Jr has become our human alarm clock. I never set an alarm, and aim to sleep at least 8 hours per night. (Usually more.)
7. Take regular naps
The only thing better than a whole night’s rest is a whole night’s rest combined with an afternoon nap. I don’t take naps every day, but never hesitate to do so when I feel the need. Sometimes it is only 30 minutes, but a quick recharge is way better than any caffeinated beverage.
Do this thing on the to-do list or take a nap? Hmmm… nap it is!
6. Read for pleasure
Did you know the average CEO reads 187 books per year? I know it is true because I saw it on the Internet.
Supposedly these are all non-fiction books, providing useful knowledge for increased productivity. But the whole productivity porn genre is incredibly boring.
Instead, I prefer to read things that are fun and interesting… for example, IRS documentation, stories about exceptional people, and pure fiction from great storytellers. I’ll probably read 26 books this year, one book every 2 weeks, but have no actual goals (why complicate things?)
Recent reads: The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb (a 4 book trilogy!) & The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor (what a name.)
Currently reading: Brief Cases by Jim Butcher (more stories from The Dresden Files)
All of these books were found at the library.
5. Exercise regularly
Instead of exercise being something to do after the day’s work is done, I make exercise the day’s work. It’s the solitary item on my todo list. Since nobody pays me for this, society tells me this is totally unproductive.
Normally after walking Jr to school in the morning I will get a coffee and then head to the gym or pool or hop on my bike. I have a regular weightlifting/swimming/biking routine. All of this exercise is good for the health, but also very good preparation for an afternoon nap.
Here is a fun ride I did with friends last weekend, a nice 100km ride around Yangming Mountain and along Taiwan’s north coast. It only took 7 hours (5 in the saddle) which means I wasn’t able to do anything productive that day. Alas.
Just another ride around the volcano
4. Avoid multitasking
A lot of people like to listen to podcasts while biking or lifting weights. Double your productivity!
I find that trying to do 2 (or more) things at once just results in doing multiple things poorly. But at least they got done, right?
Awhile back I was so engrossed in the Destroyer of Worlds episode of Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast that I almost collided with a dog that had jumped onto the bike path. On other occasions, I finished a great workout or bike ride and absorbed nothing from the audiobook I was “listening” to.
So now I just focus on the exercise and breathing (as with swimming) or add a soundtrack to the workout (Pearl Jam’s Ten, with the addition of Yellow Ledbetter, has got to be the best single album for motivation on a big climb on the bike.)
I also hear just being in the moment is a good thing.
3. Schedule unscheduled time
Schedules and to-do lists and essential tools for modern life. In addition, I use spreadsheets for tracking income/expenses and dates for credit card minimum spend requirements/renewal dates for our free travel efforts.
While we have a schedule, unscheduled time is my favorite time. It’s just a big empty space on our calendar, during which I have zero commitments and can do whatever I want.
I usually end up playing guitar or reading, but I just recently binge-watched Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency on Netflix.
Life is richer when prioritizing enjoyable activities over productive ones.
2. Play with Jr / kids
Kids are great at being spontaneous and in the moment. Jr and I ride bikes to the sandpit, play on the swings and slides, read books, kick around the soccer ball, etc… as I was typing this he asked me to wrestle, so now I am publishing this blog post on Tuesday instead of Monday.
I am really happy to be able to prioritize playtime over anything else. “Sorry son, Daddy has a big meeting tomorrow and I need to finish these PowerPoint slides.” Meh.
1. Plan regular meals and activities with friends
This past weekend was a 3-day holiday weekend in Taiwan and we attended a bbq at a friend’s house and hosted 2 at our place.
Yesterday’s bbq was a 12-hour affair, during which the kids made up games and the adults chatted and schemed over ribs and steak and adult beverages. Fun was had by all.
Delicious
We do these events regularly because it is great fun, but I’ve also heard a community is an essential component of a happy life. And having fun with friends makes it almost impossible to not be in the moment.
Speaking of communities, if you are ever in the neighborhood I am always up for a coffee.
Conclusions
Are you tired of trying to figure out how to be more productive? What is this obsession with doing more?
Maybe productivity is the problem. Maybe it is time to do things that are unproductive and yet make life richer for the doing.
Great article Jeremy. I would add that being more productive makes people live paycheck after paycheck to indulge in those costly material items that unfortunately our enhanced productivity has created. After chasing the almighty dollar for over 20 years and trying to be the best productive healthcare executive, I gave it all up to fantasize about my unproductive time. From the 11th floor of my condo in downtown Tampa I see ships coming in to the largest port in Florida, 5th in the US. Cruise ships, bulk carriers, petroleum haulers, research vessels, Coast Guard etc, I monitor them using my Marine Traffic app and even create my own fleet to track all over the world. I tell my wife I am the back up Harbor Master! I use my “worthless” history undergraduate degree to read books and visit historical sites and museums. I take my grandkids to the Florida Aquarium which I can see in front of me as I write and to the local kids museum. Of course we love to travel the world and yes with that quirky Rick Steves guide in our backpacks so we can hangout and eat with the locals as he promotes. My beloved Tampa Bay Lightning start the NHL season today and I will catch all the games as I stare at the arena in front of me. Aah, so much unproductive time!!
Living the dream!
Since you asked, my best tool for being unproductive is not succumbing to a work phone. I was told it was “optional” so I said I would pass (gasp). I never check work emails after I leave the building. I also never turn on the tv. I sit outside on my deck with my puppy in my historical neighborhood and see how many different birds I can spot. I go walking sans earbuds (gasp) so I can hear if an Amazon Prime van is coming because I don’t want to get runover.
4 years and counting from retirement! Keep writing, I love it, and glad you all are enjoying life.
I considered having no Internet access at home as a way to never take work home with me. It didn’t take.
My list of favorite unproductive tasks look a lot like yours. I see you have omitted video games and computer games, but I can forgive you for this. Great way to waste time and I personally feel like they challenge your brain (the strategy aspect).
I occasionally play games during unscheduled time. Currently playing Warlords of Aternum on the iphone
Ok, good to hear you are doing things right! ;)
A wonderful piece, as usual, Jeremy. In Germany, they have Feierabend. The literal translation means “holiday evening,” but in reality it means no work-related activities at all. Here is a link for anyone interested in reading more about it.
https://www.thelocal.de/20180706/why-every-country-should-get-on-board-with-the-german-feierabend
German is an amazing language
Italian too: dolce far niente!
Great! Love it. I specialise in sitting and staring at nature, animals and people. Xx
Sounds wonderful
This is so very much how I want to spend my time once work is no longer necessary. Especially long meals with neighbors and regular exercise. I get those now — but without 40 hours of drudgery every week, I could get more of them!
40 hours more for exercise, bbqs, and naps, plus an entirely different state of mind.
Usually I set goal for myself to do just 1 task a day (clean the house) and sometime I end up doing nothing (i.e watch YouTube or read all day, and I call that my ‘personal development’ time). Being busy for busy sake is inefficient, and place less value on ‘my’ time. It’s a turtle vs the hare story.
Personal development time is a great description for it!
“Brad Thor (what a name.)” agreed!
Also, two thumbs on this life philosophy :) Aside, is Taiwan’s tourist motto still ” Taiwan, touch your heart?”
That sounds a little creepy. I think now it is “The heart of Asia”
Ten by Pearl Jam is one of my favourite albums. Do you like it even more for track #6 …Jeremy? :D
Black is the best. No other opinions are correct :)
I thought for sure you would be listening to evenflow while tearing along on your bike
My brother and his wife sum it up, they are both 62, retire in a year once they sell the family business (for a substantial sum)
Brothers todo list: Fly model airplanes, photography, long distance motorcycle touring, landscaping. Learning to fly a helicopter and Cessna 172.
Brothers Wife todo: pull weeds, work.
Wife to Brother: “You have too many hobbies, and spend too much money”
Brother to wife : “you need to get some hobbies, else you will be bored a year from now. And we have a shitload of money that we will never be able to spend.”
Wife: ………….. walks away pissed….
Taiwan is a beautiful country, especially the mountain region to the east of Taipai, Keng Ding park, and Alishang near Chiayi.
Incredibly inspiring post about achieving an unproductive life. The only other tool that I can suggest which overlaps with many of your themes is:
– Spend Time Outdoors and in Nature.
Coincidentally, my husband and I are currently in Girona. A trip inspired by you and Winnie. We are staying in an apartment near the River Onya and the Mercado for two weeks and then ten days cycle touring the Pirinexus with some side attrips at a leisurely pace and without a schedule. We will aspire to follow all of your ten tips during this one month “vacation from our vacation” (we are semi retired).
Today we took an easy bus to Costa Brava to enjoy the beach and a relaxing long lunch by the ocean. I can see why you enjoy this part of the world.
Thank you for always inspiring us to make our lives richer.
There are some great nature spots nearby! If you can, visit Nuria and Banyoles. The bridge at Besalu is also worth a visit.
My grandfather pulled weeds and mowed lawns for the last 10 years of his life. Probably his happiest years
I worked in landscaping for 4 years in high school / college. It’s great exercise and great to be outdoors.
You don’t deserve eating if you don’t do anything productive. An animal died so you could fill your unproductive belly
Did the animal have a productive life?
Writing this blog post counts as productive work :-). Glad you are having a great time in Taiwan
Darnit! Foiled again
An Article “An Unproductive life” – I thought ‘his mind is starting to go to seed – perhaps through lack of use’.
Next morning it dawned on me.
A one and only conversation a year ago with a rarely seen ex-USAn neighbour: “[In USA] if you are not doing something ‘useful’ people look at you as if you must be sick – maybe contagiously”.
In Aus such silent opprobrium is reserved for dole bludgers and welfare cheats. An enjoyable retirement, early if desired and preferably with financial independence, is a common as muck objective. Sacrifice the early part and it is not even necessary to save – or work – the Age Pension (actually only age and means tested welfare) provides home owners with an income thriftier FIREes would thrive on.
My mind has gone to seed.
Dude, you left the hill climb to the end of the ride?? I think I would have done that ride in reverse. ;-)
Glutton for punishment…
We did it this way because there was a typhoon incoming and the wind was clockwise. It would also be better to do the ride in reverse so you could be on the sea side of the 2-lane road along the coast.
I noticed we have an “unproductive time” pay code category in our payroll system for hourly employees and some managers actually use it. I should probably ask HR for more specifics on that and if it is an option for me. They will probably tell me I am an “exempt” salaried employee that doesn’t need to worry about such things. Then, maybe, I will negotiate myself down to an hourly employee to try to take advantage of this interesting pay code.
Glad you are back on the posting circuit.
Max
I can get paid to be unproductive?! I could definitely do this job from home
Smiling the whole time I was reading this post. So close I can taste it.
Thanks to the confidence I gained from my FU money, I tried to cut back on work two years ago. But then I just had higher paying work constantly thrown my way. So I sucked it up and added more to the index funds.
That feeling of control FU money provided has kept me going at work for another two years, but it’s starting to get old again.
I’ve got one more year to go, then it’s travel and naps galore.
Until then I’m thinking about going to a hypnotist so that he can turn me into the guy from the movie “Office Space”
Evenfloooow…..
You are my idol. Posts like this inspire my soul to its very core. I enjoy reading, eating amazing food, talking with a lover or friend as we lay on a bamboo mat or the beach, climbing waterfalls, and being happy as my goal.
Since converting to index funds and automating most of my work, life has been amazing. I aspire to one day pay 0 taxes and be even more lazy.
As I write this, I am lazing in rural Thailand about to eat some damn good food and playing with a dog and cows. A week ago, I was on a beach snorkeling and lazing about. But a storm came, landslides, unstable electricity, and imminent stronger storms changed our plans.
But posts like this and raising a baby with lots of love seem productive. Is my reply to this work of art productive? Is being happy and inspiring a cute dog’s happiness productive? Who cares? Life is about happiness and thanking artists for the work increases the chances of more art like this.
I might be in Taiwan around April, if I’m not in the Philipines or Indonesia. If I am, how do I invite you for a coffee?
Umm, doesn’t having a blog that pays you money break your non-productivity rules? ;-) But seriously, great and funny article. I’m going to steal the “productivity porn genre” phrase – I can’t stand reading non-fiction business books.
And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you pesky kids!
I think the only non-fiction things I enjoy these days are biographies and Go Curry Cracker ;)
WOW your procrastination statement hit the nail on the head “That thing you are procrastinating is probably just a meaningless soul-sucking task that has no real value.”
GOSH I wish I could just ignore this task I can’t motivate myself to tackle.
Have you got any tips to knock it out of the park and move along with life?
This task plays on my mind every day and I just can’t get started on it!
I am now listening to TEN, It’s a great album.
I usually go for a bike ride. Exercise is great for clearing the mind.
I only use an alarm on run days cause my wife and I like to run with a group. I do consult about a day a week because it is good for me to have an occasional deadline and complex mental challenges and the socialization it provides. I also
do a lot of unpaid work chairing the boards of a large nonprofit foundation and a college. Those require me to be productive because I’m either legally or morally bound, or both, to protect the interests of the stakeholders and clients. But the rest of the time I’m playing tennis, fishing, off roading, hiking, international traveling, blogging, reading, skiing, pickleballing, watching movies or doing other enjoyable and completely unproductive things. Like making this comment to a favorite and truly world class blogging star!
I like that you put blogging in the same category as hiking and skiing!
Hobbies! Maybe today I’ll get out the watercolor paints or start some plant cuttings. Oh, and I have the ingredients to make an apple pie. The point is, things that absolutely have to get done will get done. Who cares if I’m productive?
Probably just the people wondering if you made that pie! :p
I deleted the work email app from my cell phone last year and have been enjoying the unproductivity ever since. It’s too easy to check it 10x a day when it’s on my phone, so I make myself fire up the computer to actually see work emails.
smart
Really love this. I think there is a great need for more messages like this post. So much of our culture is focused on productivity, do do do, whether you enjoy it or not just do. I appreciate being unproductive more than I ever had. I like to take it slow, take a breath, take a walk, or just sit and watch the trees for a bit. So many of us give up so much for “productivity’s” sake. thanks for the extra reinforcement for the positive aspects to being unproductive.
Be honest. You live in Taiwan so you can get an early Monday morning jump on the rest of us in the GCC strava club.
Busted!