Are you putting a tutu on the dog?
Don't overcomplicate your productivity!
As “The Task Mistress,” I am a productivity coach for authors and solopreneurs. Using my background as a project manager and all-round productivity nerd, I help people find holistic productivity that helps them achieve all their goals, both personal and professional.
This edition is a reprint of an older issue of this newsletter. I will be scattering older essays among the new ones, as I have a substantial backlog from an older blog that few people have read.
A long time ago I said to my friend Mitch, “That’s like putting a tutu on the dog.”
It doesn’t quite mean the same thing as the old saying, “lipstick on a pig,” which suggests trying to beautify something that is intrinsically ugly.
No, putting a tutu on the dog means something else: gussying up something that is probably better off just as it is. It’s when you take something simple and spend a lot of time making it complicated. Sometimes (a LOT of the time!) that’s fun to do, especially with things we have a natural interest in, be it crafting or technology or fashion.
But when it comes to time management, putting a tutu on the dog just creates more work and more decision fatigue when you least need it in your life.
I have found over the years that many time management systems/apps spend a lot of time and energy putting tutus on all their dogs: dozens of features and customizations that the average solopreneur will never ever use.
I ran into this a lot when I was looking at project management apps and found that all of them were designed to be used by teams of people. Sure, a single person can use them, but there are so many elements that are meant to be utilized by a lot of folk. This, of course, is great for projects being done by teams of people! No shade throwing on that. Many very successful online entrepreneurs have over time shifted from running a solo shop to a large organization, and they need tools like Asana or Monday which have the features they need to assign, communicate, and update their whole team.
But for solopreneurs/creatorpreneurs? That’s a lot of tutus trippin’ up the dog.
It’s one reason I think the bullet journal concept hit so hard back in 2013 (yeah, that recent! I know, feels like BuJos have been around for decades!). People wanted something simple and easy.
Of course, the simple idea was soon complicated by all the tutus (layouts! Templates! Designs! The BuJo world is truly extraordinary!). We seem compelled to try to make task and time management as complicated as possible. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s some suggestions for simplifying:
Don’t use productivity tools your brain hates! (Don’t like apps? Use a pen+notepad!)
Do allow yourself rest periods and play time! Schedule them or just put holes in your day to fill up with nothing!
Don’t let your planner/calendar rule over you. Your GOALS need to rule your schedule, not your TASKS!
Do set time aside to look at the “big picture.” It’s easy to get buried by everything you need to do; step back and take in the long now.
Don’t be afraid to walk away from a plan or schedule that isn’t working for you, especially if it is creating decision fatigue.
Enjoy your dogs in tutus when you feel like it, but when it comes to task accomplishment and time management, look for ways to pack away the tutus and let the dogs roam free!
…of course, now I’m thinking of the song “Who Let the Dogs Out” because I am CURSED.
Now I'm thinking of that song, too! Fun and informative article. Of course, I'd love a picture that illustrates the title!