Why is it that we often wake up with big plans — and seemingly enough energy to complete the tasks on our to-do list — and go to bed lamenting all the unfinished work?

A social worker joins Emily to pose questions about productivity to Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist. Alice shares the planning, creativity, and decision making that her success and satisfaction hinges on — and how she manages to ignore everything else. She highlights mental mistakes that prevent people from accomplishing their most meaningful work, and she gives guidance for overcoming them.

Guests:

Alice Boyes, a former clinical psychologist, is the author of two books on mental health, The Anxiety Toolkit and The Healthy Mind Toolkit. She’s writing her third book about productivity.

Kate Troutman is a social worker.

Resources:

• “5 Mental Mistakes That Kill Your Productivity,” by Alice Boyes
• “Don’t Let Perfection Be the Enemy of Productivity,” by Alice Boyes
• Getting Work Done, by Harvard Business Review
• HBR Guide to Being More Productive, by Harvard Business Review
• HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done, by Harvard Business Review
• Getting It All Done, by Harvard Business Review

Sign up for the Women at Work newsletter.

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org