The Truth About Productivity and Presence: How to Work Less and Achieve More

The Myth of Busyness

There is a common myth in business that more busyness equals more productivity. I used to believe this myself. As a headteacher and then in my early days as a business owner, I thought success meant filling every moment with doing.

I tried endless systems, planning methods, and productivity hacks. The twelve week year, the five second rule, Trello boards, Asana, habit trackers, urgent-important matrices, I tried them all. For a while it looked like they might work, but the truth was different. The more I chased productivity, the more forced and exhausting it felt.

Most of the time I was trying to push a square peg into a round hole. It was all effort and pressure, with very little ease or fulfilment.

Presence as the Missing Piece

What I have seen more clearly over the years is that productivity does not come from cramming more into each day. It comes from presence.

When we are caught up in stories about the future or pressure to achieve, we miss the subtle signs that life is pointing us in a different direction. From a 3 Principles perspective, this makes sense. The quality of our thinking creates our feeling state. When we are tense and urgent, our thinking is cluttered. When we are settled and present, wisdom has space to come through.

Presence allows us to take true action in the moment. The next step becomes obvious and it flows with ease rather than force.

Urgency versus Wisdom

There is a big difference between urgent action and wise action.

In a true emergency, presence takes over. Our system knows exactly what to do. Yet most of what we label as urgent in business is not truly urgent at all. It only feels urgent because of the thinking we are believing in at that moment. Urgent feelings in your body mean only one thing: you have urgent thinking.

If we act from that state, our decisions are rarely our wisest. They often lead to more rework and more stress. From what we can see when we consider this via the 3 Principles, wisdom is always available beneath thought. It waits quietly beneath the noise of urgency.

Slowing Down to Create Better

Slowing down feels counterintuitive in a culture obsessed with hustle. Yet slowing down is what allows us to create better, not more.

When we pause, breathe, and allow the body to settle, clarity naturally returns. The decisions that come from that place are effective and sustainable. We do not have to keep pushing harder, because what we create has more impact and requires less correction later.

Presence clears the clutter and reveals the next simple step. Sustainable productivity flows from that good feeling, not from force.

A Good Feeling Business

This is the essence of a good feeling business. It is not about chasing calm or pretending everything is fine. It is about being present with whatever is arising, knowing it will move through, and waiting for clarity before taking action.

From a 3 Principles perspective, this is where wisdom, peace, and clarity naturally emerge. When we act from that place, our productivity is not only more sustainable, it is more enjoyable.

A well run business does not come from more hustle. It comes from the good feeling of presence and clarity guiding each step forward.

Take the Next Step

If you are ready to explore what presence could mean for you and how to create a well run, good feeling business of your own, I invite you to book a clarity call with me. It is a gentle space to pause, reflect, and see what becomes clear for you.