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Bill Murray’s Secrets of Stress-Free Productivity
Instead of working, I was curled into a ball on the ground. My morning plans were interrupted by pain, and the more I tried to work, the worse my pain became.
So I stopped working for the day. I made myself a cup of tea, and went into my back yard, to ask myself: can I continue to work, or do I need to stop?
I’ve always prided myself on being a highly productive person. Ten years ago I read Getting Things Done by David Allen, and ever since, I have been able to produce at high capacity.
The secret to my productivity was stress.
When beginning a work session, I would habitually drink a lot of coffee, and put on headphones with loud electronic music. The agitation propelled me onto the next task, and the next task, in my highly-scheduled, tightly productive day.
It worked, for a long time… until it didn’t.
For five weeks last year, I was bedridden. Unable to work, to write, or even to think. I closed my business, told my clients I was unavailable (indefinitely), and my illness — a chronic autoimmune disorder that I had not been taking seriously enough — forced me to re-evaluate how I spent my time working.
