Consider the person who stays late at the office every night, to show everyone what a “team player” he is. Except, this causes him to sleep less which makes him sluggish. He misses time spent with colleagues, who would have recommended him for projects and promotions. He never has time to think, and thus fails to think of brilliant ideas that would propel him forward. Despite his drudgery, his lack of progress only convinces him that he has failed to work hard enough.

What are the unseen factors that influence our productivity so that something that looks lazy actually gets results?

1. Actually getting enough sleep.

Productivity enthusiasts fetishize waking up early. However, we all vary in our natural sleeping set-point, so early-rising might be right for some but for others not. 

Sleeping is the quintessential example of a productive activity that looks lazy. Not only does sleep consolidate memory, enhance cognition and improve your mood, but its absence is disastrous. Failing to get sufficient sleep, many of us believe we’ve “adapted” but the truth is our cognitive performance continues to decline.

Sleeping well leads thus to working better.

2. Taking long walks just to think.

We tend to devalue time spent just thinking. Long walks just to think are one of the most productive things you can do.

3. Chatting with colleagues about work.

When you only think about problems on your own, it’s much harder to arrive at the correct solution. Many insights that seem unreachable in isolation are obvious in interaction. So setting up time to chat about hard problems with colleagues can boost your productivity. 

4. Taking a nap.

Sometimes we’ll find ourselves struggling to stay awake during work, barely making any progress. In those cases, taking a nap should be seen as a productive hack, not wasteful sloth. Use the spoon trick; this will help you avoid slipping too deeply into sleep. 

5. Say “No” to most opportunities and tasks.

Busy people are those who have the hardest time saying no to those who make demands on their time. That’s why they’re busy.

6. Taking regular vacations.

Your routines eventually prevent you from discovering creative new solutions. Traveling and discovering new things is essential to prevent becoming inflexible in your thoughts and actions.

7. Stop doing work you hate.

To really do work you love, sometimes you need to stop doing work you hate.