If you work for yourself, do you ever report in?
Want to listen instead? Here is my related video on this topic:
Elon Musk started off his tenure with DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) with a simple ask: respond to an email listing five things you accomplished for the week. Musk admitted this was little more than a pulse check to see if the person was really there and bothering to check emails. He even joked that one could easily get an AI to write five jargon-laced points that would be difficult or impossible to be false.
This whole thing got me thinking, though. As employees, we expect to occasionally report to management what we are doing, and we get used to things like performance reviews where one must justify his salary by coming up with lists of important, valuable actions. As an independent artist, I work for myself, but I rarely take stock of just what I am doing to further my business. Thus, I thought I would try writing down all the things I did every day for a week to justify how I spent my time and to reassure myself that I wasn’t just flitting away the hours I had to myself for work. After starting, the list expanded to all the things I did with my time – workouts, important chores, etc.
I started putting just about everything on it. I listed if I walked the dog (or my neighbor’s dogs, as she is injured). Teaching my kids is important, so I put it on there. Same with workouts. Recording videos, streaming, or writing articles went on the list since they advertised my books. I also put various “non-productive” activities on the list that were directed toward a goal, such as researching guitar pedals or shopping for hardware I’ll use on my next music product. I even put gaming on the list because I make a point of doing something recreational every day.
I’ve had a few productivity experts tell me or expound to others that “to-do” lists are bad form and don’t usually work out. Rather than encouraging people to get work done, they overwhelm them. Since they rarely delineate tasks by importance, there is the possibility of decreasing effectiveness even while increasing efficiency. Since it’s often impossible to clear out the list, people will feel anxious that they can never finish working and never give themselves the necessary relaxation or recreation necessary for creativity. As a creative productivity expert (self-proclaimed, but you can always read my book on it to see for yourself), I emphasize consistency over grinding and incremental work on the same task over lists of many things “to do.”
“What did you accomplish this week?” is the inverse of a “to-do” list. It is a “have done” list. Rather than being overwhelming, it is encouraging and self-reinforcing. Rather than lying awake at night thinking about all the things yet to be done, I go to sleep satisfied I have made progress on my goals or at the least have done a few important things for my household or my neighbors. It’s also nice to see a list of accomplishments, a testament to things done rather than just an existence. It became a task I enjoyed completing, and it pushed me to do more work because I wanted to list more things I accomplished – more like an XP bar than a quest log.
Last week, I accomplished:
1) Livestreamed twice, including finishing the draft for a 115,000-word fantasy novel, all composed live.
2) I launched the Kickstarter for my fantasy novel King Leper and successfully reached the minimum in 24 hours.
3) I recorded and released four YouTube videos, all of which got more than 2,000 views (which is good for me)
4) I taught my children and stayed up with my daughter, who had trouble sleeping several nights.
5) Wrote and published several Substack articles.
6) Experimented with a new amplifier setup for ambient guitar, learning the settings and modes for two new pieces of hardware, and learned to integrate them into my established performance mode.
I could list more things, but this sums it up. I would have published more articles, but for several days, I could not physically get to my computer due to being busy with other obligations, and that is where I manage Substack. I had worked ahead on YouTube, so there were no hiccups there. It was a better-than-average week as far as big things (completing a book and launching a successful Kickstarter), but even in an “off week,” I could think of lots of important things I got done. Adding this to my already existing set of work habits was enjoyable. It also helped me sleep during an event that I found stressful (the campaign) since I slept knowing I had done what I needed to.
In general, it’s the middle phase of projects where motivation becomes difficult. The excitement of the “new thing” has faded, but the completion is still far off. You can feel like you are spinning your wheels. Having a list of accomplishments, even mundane ones, can help with that. You know you are getting closer to your goals. Looking back on projects I did not finish (including King Leper), it was the midpoint of the work that tripped me up. If you can get past the midpoint, chances are momentum and good work habits can carry you over the finish line. Good work habits do a great deal of heavy lifting in the creative process because you cannot count on being equally passionate about a project all the time. The “have done” list can help with that.
What about you? Have you tried something similar? I know some people like to do various journaling practices to manage tasks, but I like to keep things simple. I also avoid “to-do” lists because they can make you forget what is most important. Yes, I could write extra words tonight or focus on my guitar, but I know that I need to do more content. Leaving the “to-do” list blank and doing what is pressing right now keeps me from getting overwhelmed.
I am an independent artist and musician. You can get my books by joining my Patreon and you can listen to my current music on YouTube or buy my albums at BandCamp.
I do also find “to-do” lists overwhelming, especially as a multi-creative person. I want to write, and draw, and paint, and create a video, and within that I have 3 different writing ideas I’m equally interested in, 5 different art project concepts I want to explore, etc etc.
I picked up a copy of the Keys to Prolific Creativity recently and it’s been pretty helpful so far! Especially regarding task prioritization and “put it on the schedule and stick to it”. If I regularly work on *something* during a designated work time, the priorities will become clear. I need to just start rather than waste all my time trying to decide what kind of creative project to undertake (a big time waster for me tbh!).
Also the section on post-project depression has kinda blown my mind. There is one book I was working on for about 10 years (off and on, but it was my only big writing project all throughout that time) and I just realized I think I was subconsciously anticipating what happens if it’s ever finished – “When all your self is invested in something, completing that thing is the same as losing it”. I set that project down a year or two ago and have since moved on to other things, but it’s good to be aware of the potential cycle that could occur so I can avoid it!
Things I accomplished this past week:
1. Rearranged the living room and hung a bunch of art on the walls (finally)
2. Went roller skating for the first time in several years and rediscovered my love for it, so now I am planning to make a regular habit of it
3. Created and documented a new development process at work
4. Lost 1lb
5. Got through a major plot blocker on my main writing project