Productivity Shaming

I’m sure you’ve heard of pet shaming photos by now. People take pictures of their pet along with a (usually handwritten) sign that explains the dastardly deed for which they should be ashamed of themselves. You’ve probably even shared a few of those photos on Twitter or Facebook yourself.

As much as we tend to humanize our furry friends, I think the effort to inflict shame upon them is lost. My guess is that while the very photograph that is meant to shame them for their actions is being snapped, they are already wondering what they can get into next.

Humans, however, are another matter.

We hate to get caught with our hands in the cookie jar, an embarrassing YouTube video playing in our cubicle, or scratching our nose in a way that suggests something a little more “invasive”.

Yesterday morning I woke up with plenty of time to grab a shower, a cup of coffee, and spend a little time stringing a few words together to share on my website — but instead I burned the extra time by laying in bed and playing Candy Crush.

Now, while Candy Crush is indeed a game created by demons to keep otherwise productivity-inclined people from actually getting any work done (just one more level and THEN I’ll work on my project!) there’s really no excuse for it.

Here and now I confess my shame with the photo accompanying this blog entry. Perhaps this self-inflicted public humiliation will keep me from doing it again in the future. Perhaps it will even prompt me to take the leap and delete the crap (I mean “app”) from my phone completely so as not to be tempted by this devilish distraction down the line.

Well… Maybe after I reach the next level.

Lightbulb Moment

• You know what you should be doing. You’re just not doing it.
  .
• Delete and uninstall distractions so that you lessen the temptation.
  .
• If you know the typical time of day you tend to waste time (I’m always dragging my feet in the morning) schedule an alert or an alarm (or multiple alarms!) on your phone to interrupt your time wasting with reminders of the other (more productive and rewarding) things you should be working on.
  .
• Stop making excuses.
  .
• Go get some shit done!

.