Mistaking movement for progress is very easy.I always wondered how did the day get over so fast.

There were times when a week would go by and I would feel no progress was made when trying to evaluate what was done in that time.

I wanted to fix this, so I decided to use a stopwatch and then evaluate how much time was spent on tasks.

The result was interesting, every time I felt stuck somewhere in my work, I would get distracted by apps and notifications, then end up browsing Instagram till the images started to seem old, escaping work for a short while felt nice, but over time this started to become a habit, a bad one.

Now when I get stuck or don’t feel like doing any work I would find a way to escape. Which did a big damage to my productivity.

I realized that when I browse apps and the web, the feeling of time would fade and interacting with a touchscreen seemed like movement, the further I scrolled, the more progress I had made, or at least I felt that way.

But by the end of the day, it was not real progress.

A better way to say it; you could move a lot on a road and yet not reach anywhere.

The feeling of busyness is what made the hour seem productive, but at end of the day, nothing was accomplished.

I am writing this so it reminds me constantly that it is out there and I need to stop.

I compiled a list of software and services that I use to improve my workflow, here is the link to the list.

Darryl Dias

I’m Darryl. I’m a 3D Artist, Programmer and Linux enthusiast. On this site I share my insights, tips and tricks, tutorials, methods and best practices.