Productivity for the Gifted Professional

An Entirely Fresh Approach for a Neurodiverse Brain

When I first wrote about productivity, I did not know I was gifted. That was five years ago and many transformative, mind-blowing changes drive me back to this topic for a 2025 version and an entirely fresh approach to productivity

My 2019 article still has legs and wisdom that cut through time, trends, and tools to make sure work, life, relationships, and wealth are meaningful and sustainable. It is Secrets of a Productivity Marathon Runner, Now at the 30-Year Mark, published on Medium’s Live Your Life on Purpose.

What happened to you in the past five years? What life-shaking, redefining events shaped who you are and set you on a different path? What did you notice in others who seemed to appear from nowhere and have productivity advantages you missed—and may want now?

Here’s my short list of enormous impact experiences in the past five years and I encourage you to share your short list in the comments. Seriously. Go ahead and find the courage to revisit your journals, calendars, or whatever you used from 2019-2024 to identify those items that turned productivity upside down, inside out, and slammed it on the pavement.

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My short list

1) Find out my brain has always been gifted (neurodiverse in a good way), and I process information faster, differently, and beyond explanation;

2) A global pandemic, the death of my spouse, and close down of two businesses we shared for 40 years;

3) Create entirely new businesses and online community for Gifted Professionals and Communicators;

4) Meet and work with Carrie M. Jones, the global leader of community owners and builders and author of Building Brand Communities;

5) Discover and work with the best web developer in the world and the total rethink and relaunch of my website;

6) Discover Roam Research, learn it, let it go, and find something even better so that I could offload and never look back on Roam, Dropbox, Evernote, MailChimp, and three other knowledge management tools;

7) Discover Ness Labs and learn Mindful Productivity from Anne-Laure Le Cunff;

8) Discover Tiago Forte and dramatically simplify everything with his Building a Second Brain Framework;

9) Meet and work with Mary Henderson who works only with genius professionals to break the code on their one, true authority, and crafts frameworks, systems, and strategies that connect powerfully with the exact matches for one signature service.

Credit Joe at Pixabay

Productivity is about doing better, not less

The 10th item on my short list is Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport which presents an entirely fresh approach to productivity—especially for professionals like you, who are already deeply skilled, experienced, and often managing complex, high-level knowledge work. Newport’s perspective might initially seem at odds with the conventional hustle-driven productivity models we’ve chased for the past 50 years.

For 2025, consider Newport’s alternative to the soul-crushing, high-stress approaches to work and life.

You’re likely familiar with the myriad productivity systems out there—each promising efficiency, more output, and greater mastery. So why does Newport’s philosophy stand out? Slow Productivity challenges the notion that more tasks, faster execution, or continuous self-optimization equates to greater achievement. Instead, Newport advocates for a model centered on fewer, more impactful activities, working at a natural pace, and prioritizing quality over quantity.

For professionals like yourself, who are already exceptionally talented, this shift could be revelatory. It allows you to play to your strengths without falling into the trap of constant busyness or chasing every new productivity trend.

Credit StartupStockPhotos at Pixabay

Here are the key principles from Newport that might shift your perspective:

1. Do Fewer Things: As someone already accomplished, you likely know that mastery doesn’t come from doing everything. Newport suggests focusing on only a few things that truly matter. This aligns with the idea of working on “deep” tasks—projects that require sustained concentration and leverage your expertise.

2. Work at a Natural Pace: We often rush through our tasks, driven by the constant pressure of “doing more, faster.” Newport proposes working at a pace that feels sustainable, where you can produce your best work without overextending yourself. This principle alone could free you from burnout and reintroduce joy.

3. Obsess Over Quality: This is the part of Newport’s philosophy that resonates most with high achievers. For you, the satisfaction comes not from the sheer volume of work, but from the quality and impact of what you produce. Newport encourages a focus on excellence over expedience—a refreshing contrast to the “more is better” mentality that often prevails.

Why does this matter for you as an experienced professional?

Simply put, many productivity systems don’t recognize that, at your level, optimizing for output is not the best strategy. Newport’s framework allows you to step back from the endless chase for new hacks and tools and instead permits you to embrace a slower, more deliberate approach. It’s not about less work—it’s about more meaningful work.

Our current understanding of productivity is deeply broken. It’s fixated on constant output, measurable efficiency, and the glorification of busyness. To rethink it, we need to accept that true productivity is about focused, quality-driven work—not constant motion.

This change in mindset is exactly what I found in the past five years. That is my 2025 wish for you, too. I hope you find a path to what you want in 9 to 12 months that doesn’t require more—but less, with greater impact.

I encourage you to break from your old patterns and beliefs about productivity. Find a wise guide to help you let go of decades of mental and physical clutter and find the courage to discover “the natural state of you.” When you are ready, I can help if you are a gifted professional and communicator. If you are not all three of those in the same person, I can suggest other options, and other guides to help you achieve better—while doing less.