🤔The Productivity Myth ⏰🏭

Walk into many modern offices. You’ll probably find exposed brick, pendant lights, maybe even some preserved factory windows. Very industrial-chic.

But it’s not just the aesthetics hanging onto their factory roots – our entire concept of productivity is still running on an industrial-age operating system.

Sure, time clocks have become time-tracking apps. Assembly quotas are now KPIs. We’ve traded punch cards for Asana boards. But underneath those sleek digital veneers? We’re still thinking like factory managers: standardized processes, time-based metrics, and an almost religious devotion to “efficiency.”

And now we’re seeing the ultimate productivity paradox play out in real time: Companies trumpet flexible thinking and innovation while mandating rigid return-to-office policies. They praise adaptability while enforcing standardized work hours. They celebrate diverse thinking styles… as long as those styles fit neatly into their industrial-age metrics and monitoring systems.

The message? “Be creative and flexible! But only between 9 and 5, while sitting at your assigned desk, where we can measure your ‘productivity’ in person.”

For neurotypical minds, this is challenging enough. For those of us with ADHD or other neurodivergent thinking styles? It’s like trying to run creative software on a calculator.

Traditional productivity beliefs are a myth.

The system isn’t just outdated—it’s actively working against how many people’s minds naturally function and is, by default, anti-productive.

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The Old Rules (And Why They’re Ridiculous)

The Time = Value Equation “If you’re not at your desk for 8 hours, are you even working?” Fun fact: Some of history’s biggest breakthroughs happened during walks, in showers, or at 3 AM. Yet here we are, measuring presence instead of impact.

The One-Size-Fits-None Approach “This productivity system works for everyone!” Translation: “This system works for people who think exactly like the person who designed it – preferably while sitting in an open-plan office.”

The Linear Progress Myth “Please complete steps 1-10 in order.” Because creative insights always arrive in perfect sequential order, exactly when the team schedule says they should.

The Focus Fallacy “Single-tasking is the only way to be productive!” Tell that to the ADHD brain that’s parallel processing three project threads and spotting the connections that everyone else missed.

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The New Paradigm: Adaptive Productivity

Here’s the thing: Today’s most valuable work—innovation, problem-solving, strategy—actually benefits from neurodivergent thinking patterns and flexible environments:

• Parallel processing multiple project threads

• Spotting unexpected patterns across different domains

• Rapidly switching between ideas to generate solutions

• Processing information in networks rather than lines

• Working when and where your brain is most engaged

How AI Changes Everything

This is where AI becomes transformative. Not as another productivity tool to master, but as a partner that supports your natural though processes and helps translate them into deliverables – whether you’re at home, in the office, or somewhere in between:

Energy-Based Workflows 

• ChatGPT for maintaining multiple thought threads simultaneously

• Claude for handling complex analysis and connections

• Notion for tracking parallel projects and their intersections

• Google Calendar for supporting natural task-switching rhythms

Thought Integration

• Claude for mapping interconnected ideas and spotting patterns

• ChatGPT for capturing and organizing parallel thought streams

• Google Docs with Gemini for developing multiple threads simultaneously

• Notion AI for managing intersecting project timelines

Focus Amplification

•  Otter.ai for capturing insights while your mind processes patterns

• Claude for summarizing and finding patterns in discussions

• ChatGPT for quick idea organization and development

• Gemini for visual processing and pattern recognition

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Meet Jackson Barn Cat, our office manager, AI whisperer, and all-round curious cat. Each week he’ll nose bop a new challenge.

The Productivity Rebellion Challenge” Track three moments this week when you rebel against traditional productivity “rules” by: Capturing an idea at an “inappropriate” time Working in a way that feels natural but “unproductive” Using AI to bridge the gap between your thinking style and traditional expectations

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Weekly Poll

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Next Week

Next Week: Part 2 of our “Becoming a Productivity Powerhouse with AI” series is moving from why traditional productivity fails to how AI can amplify your natural way of working. We’ll explore practical ways to turn your unique thinking style into your greatest advantage. Because productivity isn’t about forcing yourself into someone else’s system – it’s about becoming unstoppable in your own.

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The Last Word

Your brain isn’t broken. The system is. Time to build something better – whether that’s at home, in the office, or anywhere your mind works best.

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About Me: After decades as an international executive for large media and tech companies—trying to force my ADHD brain to process information “normally”—I finally discovered that my divergent thinking style wasn’t a bug, it was a feature. Now, with AI as my partner, I’m showing others how to turn their unique neuro-spicy minds into professional productivity.

We love hearing your views, insights and questions: hello@chasingsilverfish.com