I didn't do the thing today

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Title:

I didn't do the thing today

Author:

Dore, Madeleine, author.

ISBN:

9780593419137

Physical Description:

xii, 289 pages ; 21 cm.

Contents:

The thing about advice -- At the start of the day. The narrowing of productivity ; The expansion of creativity -- The stumbles in the day. The hopeless search for the ideal routine ; The worry of wasted time ; The shifting goalposts of ambition ; The myth of balance ; The standstill of indecision ; The deflation of comparison ; The great disappointment of expectation ; The trap of busyness ; The denial of limitation ; The harsh rules of discipline ; The push and pull of distraction ; The trying pursuit of perfection -- At the end of the day. The generosity of kindness ; The depth of curiosity ; The moments of enjoyment.

Subject Term:

Time management.

Guilt.

Stress management.

Self-actualization (Psychology)

Summary:

"Explores the concept of productivity guilt, which includes comparison to others, striving for perfection, and too great expectations, and explains instead how to find value in each day, rather than dwell on what the individual did or didn't complete." --

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Lake Elmo Library	640.43 DOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	640.43 DOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	152.44 DOR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wildwood Library (Mahtomedi)	640.43 DOR	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

How to release productivity guilt and embrace the hidden values in our daily lives.

Any given day brings a never-ending list of things to do. There's the work thing, the catch-up thing, the laundry thing, the creative thing, the exercise thing, the family thing, the thing we don't want to do, and the thing we've been putting off, despite it being the most important thing. Even on days when we get a lot done, the thing left undone can leave us feeling guilty, anxious, or disappointed.

After five years of searching for the secret to productivity, Madeleine Dore discovered there isn't one. Instead, we're being set up to fail. I Didn't Do the Thing Today is the inspiring call to take productivity off its pedestal--by dismantling our comparison to others, aspirational routines, and the unrealistic notions of what can be done in a day, we can finally embrace the joyful messiness and unpredictability of life.

For anyone who has ever felt the pressure to do more, be more, achieve more, this antidote to our doing-obsession is the permission slip we all need to find our own way.

Author Notes

Madeleine Dore is a writer and interviewer exploring how we can broaden the definition of a day well spent. For the past five years, Dore has been asking creative thinkers how they navigate their days on her popular blog Extraordinary Routines and podcast Routines & Ruts . She regularly conducts life experiments and hosts events to examine how creativity isn't just something we do, but how we approach our lives.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Extraordinary Routines blogger Dore debuts with a welcome sanity check that advises kicking perfectionism to the curb. Giving readers permission to accept that there are "days we don't seize," she preaches sidestepping the "if only" spiral by trusting the ebb and flow of life, realizing that balance is a myth, giving up on jealousy-inducing comparisons (while seeking "enriching" ones), avoiding the trap of busyness-for-busyness's sake, taking an inventory of shaming "shoulds," and beginning each day with delight (try clotted cream on porridge for breakfast). To achieve accomplishments and avoid burnout, Dore recommends focusing attention by identifying what breaks it (laundry lists and social media are prime examples) while acknowledging the reality that distraction exists, and overcoming the toxicity of perfectionism, which fuels the inner bully. "What if instead of expecting ourselves to completely overhaul our lives, we picked just one thing? Instead of expecting ourselves to write a thousand words each morning, we focus on just one paragraph?" she asks. With the tone of a wise friend, Dore will lighten the mental overload of type A readers. Agent: Georgia Frances King, Aevitas Creative Management. (Jan.)

The Thing About Advice	p. xi
Part I At the Start of the Day
1 The Narrowing of Productivity	p. 3
2 The Expansion of Creativity	p. 19
Part 2 The Stumbles in the Day
3 The Hopeless Search for the ideal Routine	p. 31
4 The Worry of Wasted Time	p. 53
5 The Shifting Goalposts of Ambition	p. 73
6 The Myth of Balance	p. 89
7 The Standstill of Indecision	p. 109
8 The Deflation of Comparison	p. 125
9 The Great Disappointment of Expectation	p. 137
10 The Trap of Busyness	p. 163
11 The Denial of Limitation	p. 185
12 The Harsh Rules of Discipline	p. 203
13 The Push and Pull of Distraction	p. 221
14 The Trying Pursuit of Perfection	p. 239
Part 3 At the End of the Day
15 The Generosity of Kindness	p. 257
16 The Depth of Curiosity	p. 267
17 The Moments of Enjoyment	p. 277
Acknowledgments	p. 287
Further Reading	p. 290

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

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