Productivity in the Knowledge-Economy
Productivity in the Knowledge-Economy
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
When I first started my business I ran myself into burnout pretty quickly. The issues came from my perception of work. I thought that to be working I needed to be behind a desk staring at a screen. Anything else seemed like I was slacking off.
This created a situation where I'd overwork myself into creating mini-fires in the business. These fires were due to poor judgment and fatigue. I'd try put out those fires by working harder until I'd reach the point of burnout.
That first year felt like I was spinning in circles over and over again.
Around a year in I was close to quitting, things had been steady but I felt jaded.
So I spent some time reflecting and realised that my problems were stemming from my approach to work.
I'd been approaching my work as if I was involved in the physical economy when I was actually in the knowledge economy.
In the physical economy it's easy to judge if you're working or not. If you're physically doing your job whether it be manufacturing cars, building houses or cleaning windows then you're working. Your output is judged on the number of hours you put in.
But when your value is in ideas, creativity and problem solving you need to take a different approach to work.
The knowledge economy requires doing a lot of things that don't look like work. Taking walks, reading, spending time in nature all seem like relaxation but these are vital components for the knowledge worker to produce their best work.
As the knowledge and creator economy evolve we will move further away from the story we tell ourselves of needing to slave away for 8 - 14 hours per day to be "successful".
Instead, we will need to spend more time in solitude doing things that don't look like work to others but are necessary to great output.
Two Ideas from Me
I.
“People don't buy products or services they buy stories and outcomes.”
II.
“Whenever you feel like there are only two options remember that our brains love to categorise things are binary [good or bad, yes or no].
The best solution is usually much more nuanced.”
This Weeks Finds
💭 The bad client/clueless boss trap: This short post from Seth Godin is the key to figuring out how to run a successful service-based business. You need to figure out how to work with better clients..
"There are two secrets to doing great work:
1. Persuade the client to let you do great work.
2. Get better clients.
They dance together every day.
You get better clients as soon as you act like the creator who deserves better clients."
⏰ When is the best time to create?: It's easy to put off the most important work. You can always justify why now isn't the perfect time. If you're struggling with getting the right things done I'd recommend giving this a read.
👣 Solitude
“A crowded world thinks that aloneness is always loneliness and that to seek it is perversion.” — John Graves
This Weeks Creations
Usually in this section of the newsletter I'd share any videos and articles I've published this week. That's not happening this week because I've been working on my new site merging my creative work and my freelance business.
You can checkout the site here and let me know what you think :)
End Note
If you enjoyed this edition of the Sunday Filter then I’d love it if you could share it with a few friends. You can send them over here to sign up.
Have a great Sunday,
- Stephen
P.S I think we’re living in a Pixar movie