Wake up—you’re wasting your Monday

Everything You Know About Productivity is a Lie

Einstein didn’t grind. He didn’t wake up at 5 AM to “optimize his productivity.” He took long walks. He played the violin. He sat around and thought. And while the rest of the world was busy “hustling,” he gave us …relativity!

"Creativity is the residue of time wasted." - Einstein

Meanwhile, here you are—rushing into your Monday, drowning in emails, back-to-back meetings, and deadlines that someone else invented. You’re executing, but are you thinking?

The productivity illusion

We’ve been conned. Sold the idea that busyness equals brilliance. That if you’re not doing something right now, you’re falling behind.

But here’s the real question: When was the last time you had a great idea in the middle of a Teams call?

Exactly.

The best ideas don’t come when you’re cranking out deliverables at breakneck speed. They come when your brain finally has space to breathe—when you’re walking, staring out the window, or letting your mind wander.

The marketing pendulum: run, spend, stop, panic

Marketing is a masterclass in exactly this chaos. I call it the Pendelum Swing Dilemma!

One week, it’s “Go! Go! Go!”—big campaigns, budgets flowing, urgency at an all-time high.

Then suddenly, “STOP. LOCK EVERYTHING DOWN.” Panic. Budget freeze. No more spend.

Then, just as quickly—“SPEND IT ALL. NOW. WHY AREN’T WE MOVING FASTER?!”

It’s sometimes ridiculous (but it’s the job). And in that madness, no one stops to think. It’s just reaction, reaction, reaction.

You can’t think and execute at the same time

Execution mode and thinking mode? They don’t mix. You’re either in grind mode or creative mode—but never both at once.

When you’re deep in execution, you don’t have time to connect dots, challenge assumptions, or spot the thing no one else is seeing.

And when you’re thinking, you’re not producing output on demand.

So if you ever feel like you’re “wasting time” just thinking—good. That means your brain is actually working.

Part of your job is not doing your job

So today, do something radical.

Step away. Look out the window. Take a walk. Ignore Teams for an hour.

Because that’s when the real work happens.

🔥 Now go waste some time—intelligently. 🔥

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