One of the things I love about my work is the chance to do things better. On the micro-level, this means accepting the days that completely burn you out and leave you bleary-eyed. That's what I've called in the past a "good kind of tired".

The flip side of a grinder sort of day is the promise of another chance- the next day, to do it all again. And do it differently. This is when productivity seems like an experiment- on yourself that is. Like tinkering, productivity is a matter of push and pull, tweak and recalibrate.

To the productive person, this could mean:

Using a different pad of paper for higher level thinking

Using more (or less?) software to manage your projects

Taking a break at a different time of the day to recharge and renew

To marry this with some spiritual principles, we think naturally of hope. Hope is a powerful virtue that allows us to see beyond the crazy day and killer schedule. Beyond hope, we look to Scripture for some well-grounded metaphors. Lamentations 3:22-23 says the following:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

God provides new graces for new moments of work. This work can be that of a stay-at-home mother or a CEO. It doesn't really matter. His "mercies" simply don't have a shelf life and as long as we have breath, God gives us opportunity after opportunity to try again.

To try smarter.

To work more effectively.

To master the experiment of productivity.

*photo by mpeterke