Increase productivity by pretending your work is already done

What work?

It’s not unusual to write a small “status update” email to a client or superior throughout the lifespan of a project. Usually once a day, or maybe 3x a week, I’ll drop my boss a line, just to convey progress, concerns, or blockers.

Then I stumbled on something. Occasionally, I’d write these updates when I felt a lull in the day, which meant the work I was writing about may not necessarily be 100% done, but I know I was getting there. When I finished for the day, I’d hit “send” on the draft and leave the office in a blaze of glory.

Ensuing blaze of glory form a day’s job, well-done.

I started intentionally doing this mid-way through a feature, and it’s yielded great results.

Write your status update email before the work is done, and you’ll inadvertently be better equipped and more focused to complete the work at hand.

Your goal becomes sending the “status update” email, and the feature is a means to an end.

In order to click “Send,” you must first complete everything you promised to yourself you would. For whatever…