Productivity in my 20s vs my 30s

Productivity in my 20s meant squeezing in and crossing off as many things as possible. In my 30s, it means clarity on priorities, and the mindset to stop avoiding the real, often difficult work.

I used to be a productivity fanatic. Hard not to be when you were in consulting while trying to stay fit and maintain an active social life. The discipline, and pride, of work hard, play hard feels intoxicating.

Like many people, I mellowed out in my 30s. I stopped worshipping a one-dimensional definition of success, stopped needing to impress others, and started listening more to my own needs and values.

But that shift also came with the confusing transition of leaving the old goals and firming up new ones. More inner-focused also meant losing your community. When an entire class of consultants was aiming for the same thing, it felt far less lonely than figuring out your own path.

During this transition, the old productivity tools stopped working. The to-do list or habit streak I used to keep religiously lost its authority.

A more sophisticated tracker won't help sorting out what actually matters. A scorecard becomes meaningless if the scoring has changed.

What I needed was something that gave me space to test new values without demanding conviction overnight. Something that helped me notice old patterns and allowed time to unlearn them, the way unlearning an old tennis swing takes patient, awkward repetition before the new one feels natural.

Gradually, productivity stopped being just about streaks or breaking tasks into smaller pieces.

It became a different set of questions entirely: how do I evolve my mindset to break through old habits? How do I stay disciplined about prioritizing what matters to me, even when it doesn't come naturally yet?

And as AI takes over more of the doing, expanding yourself to know and follow through on what's actually worth doing becomes the more important productivity skill.

How has your approach to productivity changed in the last 3-5 years?