Fake-work

Passionate people put a lot of themselves into their work. While writing about distractions a couple of days ago, I touched upon a parasite of the passionate: ‘fake-work’.

Fake-work is when you feel like you’re working, but you’re really not. It takes time, but without the sensation of forward-motion in ways that matter.

Here are some examples to help you spot it when it happens:

1. Thinking but not deeply enough to drive any thought, situation, or idea forward. This is ‘worry’ in disguise.
2. Checking and re-checking things at a rate that exceeds practical utility. E.g. checking your email every 15 minutes. This is ‘flailing’ in disguise.
3. Unstructured ‘research’ or unstructured reading. E.g. watching an ‘important’ life-hack YouTube video when you should be creating. This is ‘procrastinating’ in disguise.

Work hard on things that matter. Don’t let fake-work steal your valuable time.