Time to Read: 3 mins
Last week, I organized my spice racks.
Okay, “organized” might be an understatement.
I grouped them according to cooking style (i.e., sweet or savory), then alphabetized them within their respective groups, and finally added labels to the caps so I could see the spices at a glance.
Some other things I did last week… cleared out my inbox, processed two months of business receipts, cleaned out my bathroom drawers, and reorganized my computer desktop.
At a glance, it looked like I was being uber productive. But I soon had to admit…
My productivity was actually procrastination in disguise.
The "Wrong Work" Trap
We humans have a curious habit… we often do what’s visible, but avoid what’s vital. Or we tackle the list instead of facing the thing.
Because, if we’re being honest, doing the “wrong work” still gives us a dopamine hit.
It feels productive.
It feels responsible.
It feels safer than staring down the vulnerable work that might stretch us, scare us, or change us.
And yet, that’s the work that actually creates the life we want.
It was a client coaching call that made me recognize my pattern last week… because my client was stuck in a similar loop.
They came to our session frustrated by the fact that they hadn’t stopped moving but still felt stuck.
When we dug further into it, the picture became clearer.
They’d spent hours refining their website copy… even though they weren’t launching for another two months.
They updated their client onboarding process… even though they had no discovery calls booked.
They color-coded their Notion dashboard… which, to be fair, was beautiful but not beneficial.
But the outreach they needed to do? The collaborations they wanted to pitch?
Still completely untouched.
It wasn’t that they were lazy. Or disorganized. Or unclear.
It was that they were doing the work that felt comfortable and looked productive on the outside, even though it wasn’t moving them towards their goals.
They were negotiating with their excuses.
A behavior I quickly noticed because... I had been doing the same thing with my spice rack.
But once they saw the pattern, they had a huge a-ha! They realized they’d been building everything around the thing, without ever actually touching the thing.
And that moment?
That was self-leadership in action.
Because awareness is where it all begins.
đź’ˇ Practionable Takeaway
If you’ve ever found yourself alphabetizing your spices or perfecting backend systems instead of making real progress, you might find this simple exercise helpful.
It helps you notice where you’re spending your energy so you can determine whether it’s actually moving you forward.
✅ Step 1: Identify the work you’ve been doing.
Make a quick list of what’s been taking up your time lately. Especially the stuff that felt productive in the moment, but in hindsight, clearly wasn’t.
âś… Step 2: Ask yourself: What is this work helping me avoid?
This is where it gets interesting.
Sometimes, we avoid work that feels vulnerable or challenging. Other times, we avoid what feels unclear or confusing. And sometimes? We just avoid what feels boring or annoying, and isn't bringing us joy.
Whatever it is for you, get it on paper. This is important data.
âś… Step 3: Spot the pattern.
Looking at the data you just collected, what types of work do you default to when you’re avoiding something else?
Busywork? Planning? Organizing? Learning? Helping others?
Knowing your personal avoidance patterns is a form of self-leadership. This insight also sets you up for…
âś… Step 4: Choose one meaningful move.
You're not going for a massive overhaul here. The goal is not to fix everything in one fell swoop.
Nope, just one small action step that’s connected to your deeper purpose or goal.
Something that will actually move the needle forward, even if it’s just a wee little bit.
That’s how we shift from motion to meaning, and from activity to traction.
🎥 Want to Go Deeper?
If you sometimes find yourself negotiating with your excuses and justifying the need to reorganize your spice rack RIGHT NOW, then check out this video.
It provides a research-backed strategy for overcoming this tendency so you can make meaningful progress towards what matters most.
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Here’s to doing the right kind of work this week!
The kind that might not look impressive at first glance, but quietly shifts everything and leads to real results.
To Your Success,
Laura
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