Outcomes vs. Process: Rethinking Productivity for a More Fulfilling Day

In today's episode of the Mindful Productivity Podcast, we’re diving into the powerful distinction between focusing on outcomes versus embracing the process. Often, we get so wrapped up in achieving the end goal that we forget to enjoy the journey itself. But what if productivity could feel more aligned and satisfying daily, regardless of the destination? Here’s how shifting your focus from outcomes to process, rethinking to-do lists, and embracing a personal definition of productivity can make all the difference.

Why Focusing Solely on Outcomes Can Leave You Feeling Unsatisfied

Have you ever been so fixated on reaching a goal that you forgot to enjoy the journey? As a kid, my dream was to have a pirate-themed birthday party. I was obsessed with being the one to find the "treasure" during the hunt. In my determination, I forgot to enjoy the experience with my friends. Looking back, I realize this reflects a common tendency: sometimes, our attachment to outcomes can overshadow the joy of the process.

Outcomes are essential; they help us stay connected to our bigger goals. We all have everyday outcomes we strive for, like cooking a meal to enjoy a delicious dinner or meeting a work deadline to stay on track with projects. But when we prioritize outcomes above all else, we risk burnout and frustration. Staying outcome-focused can create tunnel vision, preventing us from fully engaging with the process.

Embracing the Process as Part of Your Success

If outcomes are our final destination, processes are the routes we take to get there. A process is a series of steps that lead us toward a goal, but the journey matters just as much as the result. Engaging with the process means enjoying the day-to-day actions that bring us closer to our objectives. When we focus on creating enjoyable, sustainable processes, we’re less likely to burn out and more likely to stick with our routines.

For example, when we focus on enjoying movement and exploring types of physical activity that bring joy, rather than fixating on a specific weight or fitness outcome, it becomes easier to stay consistent. Find the process that brings you joy. When the process feels good, reaching the outcome becomes a pleasant side effect rather than the sole measure of success.

Redefining Productivity: It’s More Than Just a To-Do List

To-do lists have a way of expanding. If we’re not careful, they can spiral into overwhelming lists that lead us to feel unproductive or even like we’re failing. A common misstep is overloading daily to-do lists with unrealistic expectations. Instead of creating lengthy lists that feel daunting, try starting each day by defining your top three priorities. Ask yourself, “What are the three most important things I need to complete today?” Focusing on these top priorities can help prevent burnout and make each day feel more manageable.

The Success List: Celebrating Your Wins

Instead of just checking off tasks, why not celebrate your accomplishments along the way? This is where a success list comes in handy. Throughout the day, write down what you accomplish, even if they’re small wins. Did you clear out your inbox? Add it to your success list. Drank 100 oz of water? That goes on the list too! When you feel like you haven’t done “enough,” referring to your success list can remind you of your achievements, helping you recognize progress.

The Impact of a Process-Oriented Mindset

When we shift our focus from just the final outcome to the quality of our process, productivity becomes more intentional and mindful. We become present in each task, and we can appreciate the value of each step. And even when we hit a setback, we can still feel accomplished because we’ve honored the process rather than just aiming for the end goal.

Here are some steps to get you started:

Brain Dump Your Tasks: Start each week or day with a brain dump. Write down every task on your mind, big or small. This clears mental clutter and lets you see everything you want to do.
Prioritize Three Things Each Day: From your brain dump, pick the top three tasks that will make the biggest difference. Let these become your focal points, rather than overwhelming yourself with dozens of items.
Celebrate Your Successes: Create a success list to track what you accomplish throughout the day. Seeing a list of “done” items is empowering and reinforces a productive mindset.
Focus on Enjoyable Processes: Align your daily habits and routines with what genuinely brings you satisfaction. Make productivity something you look forward to, not just a checklist.
Avoid Comparing Your Journey: Resist the urge to compare your process with others or even with a previous version of yourself. Instead, focus on the unique steps you’re taking each day.

Productivity Redefined: Enjoying the Process, Not Just the Goal

Real productivity isn’t about how much we check off; it’s about finding ways to move closer to our goals that feel aligned with who we are and how we want to feel. Take some time today to rethink your approach to productivity. Redefine it as something that feels nourishing, not just efficient. Creating and sticking to a process that serves you can bring long-term fulfillment and peace of mind.

So, next time you find yourself laser-focused on an outcome, take a deep breath and look around. Ask yourself: “Am I enjoying this process?” Remember, real growth and joy often come not just from reaching the destination but from every mindful step along the way.

You're listening to episode two of the Mindful Productivity Podcast today we're talking all about outcomes versus process and rethinking your daily productivity. We're going to be diving deep into what it means means to create a process toward the outcome of your goals so that it feels good working towards something every day instead of merely focusing on the end goal that sometimes can take a while to get to. I'm also going to be talking about powerful ways to rethink to do lists and some different strategies for working them into your day.
You're going to want to stay tuned to the end. This episode is jam packed with so much information, and lastly, we're going to be diving into what it means to define your own daily productivity in ways that feel really aligned and intentional with how you want to feel on a daily basis. Stay tuned. I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome to the Mindful Productivity Podcast.
I'm your host, Sarah Steckler.
And this is the place to be to live a more mindful and productive life. If you're ready to turn daily chaos into calm and start your days with intention, then get ready to join me as we dive deep into mindful living and personal productivity. It's time to connect with your true self so you can live the life you want to live. And it all starts now.
When I was about five or six years old, I wanted more than anything in the world to have a pirate birthday party. I wasn't into Barbie, I wasn't into horses. I wanted pirate stuff, you guys more than anything. And I didn't hold back expressing that to my parents. In fact, I'm pretty sure four weeks. I mean, it could have been hours because in my mind time was going by very slowly when you're that age. But I just remember telling my parents again and again, I want a pirate party.
I want a pirate hat. I want treasure. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I was pretty lucky because when my birthday hit, that is exactly what I got. I'm talking about the coolest pirate party. I had pirate themed everything. My mom went all out. And for this 90s kid, it was everything I could have hoped for. Side Note My passion for Pirates at the time was really inspired by the movie Hook. In fact, that was my favorite favorite movie growing up, and the first thing I ever purchased with my own hard earned allowance money was a book from the bookstore all about the movie Hook.
I was walking around quoting it all the time. So you get how much and how important at this point in my life Pirates were and the whole thing. So my birthday rolls around and it's this moment where we go on the treasure Hunt. And I don't even know how much effort my parents put into creating a treasure Hunt for a bunch of five or six year olds to run around the property looking for this treasure, and I was dead set on being the one to find it.
In fact, I was so almost kind of. I mean, I've always been kind of a control freak, but this was the moment looking back where I was like, wow, it was really intense, but the whole time, I would stop at nothing to find this treasure chest. In fact, I was pretty grumpy about it. There's some really fantastic photos of me pouting and being really grumpy the entire time I pushed friends out of the way. You guys, it was a little alarming. I was so set on finding this, and I had to be the one to find it.
And I remember my parents telling me this story and being like, we were just so glad you did find it because we didn't want to have to deal with you having some kind of tandem in the middle of this party with 15 kids. And it was really cute, too, because the whole treasure chest was out in plain sight. I think we had two acres of two and a half acres of property growing up, and the treasure chest was this amazing wooden box that my dad had built, and it was just filled with all these plastic pieces of treasure and fake gold and all kinds of pirate memorabilia.
And I remember opening it up and just being like, yes, it was so awesome, and it was in plain sight. It wasn't hard to find. But the reason why I tell this story is because I think we do this a lot in our lives. We're so dead set on an outcome that we forget to enjoy the process. In fact, I didn't enjoy the whole treasure Hunt. The whole point is to have fun doing that. I was so dead set on just being able to find the treasure and being the one to find it and trying to control every aspect of the end that I didn't have fun along the way.
And I think this happens a lot. We sometimes focus so much on the outcome that we fail to realize that the process is a huge part of feeling productive. So I wanted to talk about that today. I wanted to talk about the difference between outcomes versus process and when to focus our energy on each one and some things to consider. We're going to be diving deep into that today, and we're also going to be talking about ways to rethink your own daily productivity. What does it really mean to be productive and how can you feel that way and how can you also make it so it's more in tune and aligned with how you want to feel and how you want to be more intentional in your daily life?
I'm such a big fan of looking up the definitions of words because we often think that we know what things mean. But then when we actually read the definition. It can really spark some inner awareness or lack thereof about what's really going on with the words that we're using or the things that we're using to describe experiences in our lives. So let's dive a little bit into outcomes, and I looked up different words. Different synonyms for outcome. Outcomes are the effect. They're the aftermath, the result, the conclusion.
These are what help us focus on what we want the end result to be, and they're super important when it comes to goal setting and setting intentions. We have to know what the big picture is if we want to stay on track so that we can point our Compass in the direction that we want to go, and we know that we're getting there. In academia and curriculum development, we often refer to outcomes as deliverables or what we want students to learn or walk away with what measurable skills do.
We want them to be able to obtain. And we also have everyday outcomes, not just big picture ones. We think about how we want to feel at the end of the day, we think about what we want to have happen when we step into the kitchen. We want the ingredients that we have to go from dry and cold to warm and hearty. We want to feel good afterwards. We want to feel full and nourished and satisfied. And ultimately, we want the time that we're putting into cooking or going out and getting delivery.
Whatever it is, we want our effort to result in an outcome that makes sense. We want that ratio of time and input to output to feel good. There's nothing worse than watching a clickbait Facebook live video that's 20 minutes long and being like, oh, my gosh, this didn't do anything for me. I'm leaving this with 20 minutes gone, and I don't feel like I got whatever? Snazzy title topic they were talking about, right? That's just an example. But we have these everyday outcomes that we focus on.
And what I really want to touch on is that outcomes are great, but sometimes focusing too much on the end results can actually be a disservice to us. So when it comes to outcomes, it's like when do we know that we really need to focus on that? Focusing on outcomes can be great. We know that we have an idea that our everyday steps and our habits and our actions are leading to something bigger. They're helping us create a mapped out plan, and they can also help us stay attached to our why.
For example, we think about all these things, like things that we're doing at work, right? Like, for an example, working in a University, I was really inspired by the fact that even in moments when I didn't love that particular task I was working on, I felt a connection to a bigger picture. I knew that the work I was doing was sometimes not directly connected, but in the big scheme of things was connected to students getting a higher education and graduating and being able to uplevel their lives.
And that was really powerful. And sometimes we have to come back to that. We have to come back to the outcome. Like, why are we really doing the daily things that we're doing? Why am I making time to meditate for just even five minutes every day? Because it makes me feel calmer because it leads to this outcome. It leads to deeper self awareness. But the problem with outcomes is that much like my pirate, treasure seeking five year old six year old self. If we get too caught on the end, then we can kind of go in this crazed rampage to try to get there.
And during that process, we can feel really resentful. We can shove beam a lot of the way like I did when I was five. We can step on other people's toes. We can do things that are out of alignment. We can do things that are even slightly unethical. We can regret the decisions we're making because we're so hell bent on getting to that end goal. If you were thinking about someone running a marathon and just knowing that they had to get it done in 45 minutes, not a second more, what would that person do during that marathon?
Would they take risks? Would they do things that they might not normally do? If, instead of having this set goal be 45 minutes, they were just like, I just want to finish it without stopping. I just want to keep running. I don't want to stop or walk or slow down. I want to keep my pace versus thinking about that. I always think about truck drivers, for example, and how when I've driven cross country multiple times, and if you drive up in Canada versus the US, there's some differences in terms of how truck drivers are paid, right?
Some truck drivers are paid by the mile. So every mile that they make, they are paid a certain amount of money versus others that are paid by the hour. So if you think about that, how are those truck drivers going to behave right? There's going to be a little bit different of an incentive. There. The ones that are paid by the mile are going to be booking it. And they're like, I'm paid by the mile versus the hour. They're more concerned on the process. Maybe they take a little bit more time to watch the road, or maybe they take a little bit more time to stop when they need to, or maybe they're not flying by any of those waste stations because they know that they're getting paid by the hour.
I mean, you can look at similar things with people that are paid on a Commission basis for sales versus paid an actual salary. All these things affect us. And when we look at outcomes, we often forget about the process. So if you were to think about a goal that you have in mind, close your eyes for a minute if you can and just think about the biggest goal that you have in front of you and what that outcome is, what is the ultimate thing that you want to obtain.
Now I'll give you an example that comes up for most people. Let's just be honest, a lot of the time, and that is like losing weight or getting in shape or improving our health or wellness or fitness. Now, in the past, I have done a lot of things. I have been dead set on losing a certain amount of weight, and I have often failed because instead of focusing on the daily steps I need to take, I'm just so dead set on the outcome like I got to lose £25.
It's got to look exactly like this on the scale. If I'm half a pound away from that, then I haven't reached my goal. And every day, every grueling workout, every restricted meal that I have eaten. It's always been this like I'm doing this because I've got to reach that goal, right? But what really is sad is that when we look at goals like that and we focus just on the outcome without really getting clear and creating a process that we really enjoy, then we don't always stick to them.
The times in my life that I've been the most successful with things is actually when I dive deep into creating a process and a daily habits daily action steps that really feel good. So instead of focusing on I need to lose a specific amount of weight. For example, I'm going to do workouts every day that I love. I'm going to find the kind of movement that feels good for my body and that I look forward to. I'm not going to do this specific workout video because it's painful and I can't walk the next day, I'm going to instead go running or I'm going to go play basketball with friends or whatever it is.
And when we really start to enjoy the process of the things that we're doing, everything can start to change now. I'm sure you saw this coming. I want to talk about the definition of process, too, because it's a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. So even the definition of process is rooted still in actions that are taken to reach an end. Right? There's a particular end, in fact, that we're going towards. But I actually want to challenge the notion and the definition of process.
Can I do that? I'm doing that, you guys, because the thing about process is that there are often things that we don't do in our daily lives that we don't do on a weekly or monthly basis because we think there's not a solid outcome attached to this. And I think this is where a lot of us get stuck in not being consistent with our self care because or not being consistent with things that don't have a tangible result, it's more of an emotional based feeling or it's more of a stress relief response or something like that that we Canva see on paper, and we can't measure like we can other things.
Like if you have it on your to do list, to clean, to wipe off your desk and clean your desk and declutter it, you're going to see that and other people are going to walk by your desk and see that she cleaned her desk today. It looks nice, good for her. But if we do things that help us internally, that's not something that we see you can create. I have lists, and sometimes I give myself gold star stickers because I love stickers, and there's something really fun about checking off a box or giving yourself a sticker when you do something.
But there are ways to create a visual representation of the things that we're working on. But my point is that we often don't do things. We often don't take time for self care or even things within our relationships because we can't see them on paper. Sometimes our ego comes into play and we think, Well, if no one else is going to see this, or if other people aren't going to have an immediate benefit from my actions, then maybe it's really not that important. But the truth is that there is a huge connection to diving deep and focusing on acts of process in our life and really just leaving it at that.
There's an amazing documentary on Netflix called Happy. And within that documentary, they talk about a research study that was conducted that shows that there is a wonderful expansion in the measure of happiness experience over time, too, with people that can do things where they have really focused energy. So I'm talking about things like knitting or things like painting or even journaling or something where you have to meticulously pay attention. So sitting in front of Netflix and kind of watching a show and then also scrolling through your phone isn't going to give you that experience.
But if there's a hobby that you have that you've been putting off, that you just enjoy the process of, then I really encourage you to get back into that, because when we do things where we just love the process of them, it's so incredibly valuable, and it takes some time, too, right? Like, sometimes I feel I even feel guilty about doing things because I'm like, this is just for me. This is something that's just for me. This is something that is just a process. Like I have this kind of scarf.
It's not really a scarf. It's just this bundle of yarn that I've knitted together as long as it'll go right to the end of the thread. And then I undo it and I redo it all over again, and it's not something that I'm ever going to give to someone. It's not really even a scarf. It's kind of like a really awkward long coaster. But the point is that I always come back to it because I enjoy the process of being mindful and just sitting somewhere comfortable and knitting and doing the exact same repetition over and over again.
There's something really fun about that. Another example is my husband in the past couple of months really got into paracording, which if you're not aware of what that is, I love it. I always joke, and I call it like, man knitting, because I think that knitting shouldn't be a gender specific thing. But for whatever reason, I think guys just are like, oh, paracording.
It's cool because you wrap stuff around wood, and it's like, it's high, like, quality material paracord. It's not flimsy, like yarn.
It's this durable thing. And he's gotten really into that. And basically it's like wrapping this cord around different pieces of wood or making those bracelets you see that you can wear when you're hiking and you can take them apart. And Paracords are really strong. I can't remember how much weight per inch you can hold, but it's really durable. So he's gotten really into that and just taking time to learn different ways of wrapping it. And I don't know what the term is. It's not knitting, but creating knots and wrapping it around and doing Turks heads and all these different designs with the cord.
And that's the thing that's really enjoyable. And one thing he said about it, too, is that it doesn't matter every time he does it. It's not like he's coming out with this finished product. I joke that we're going to have all these random paracord wrapped things, like, I'm waiting for the steering wheel in our car to have cord around it. He's going to wrap everything, I'm sure. But he said it's more about the process of it. It's like, I just really enjoy doing it for whatever reason, when I can just sit on a rainy afternoon and have some black coffee and just focus on this one task.
I have so much joy. And even though I'm not necessarily coming out with a finished product that I can, like, show people at the end of 2030 minutes of doing it, I feel really accomplished. And that's something to think about, too, is that the process of things we do can be really enjoyable. And we don't always have to have this measurable thing at the end of it. So that kind of brings us into this next thing that I want to talk about. And it's a question I want to ask you, and it's this our to do lists really serving you.
And I asked myself this question the other day, and I got kind of frustrated because I was like, yeah, I love to do this. They're great, and they're really important. And I couldn't run my day and I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't have to do lists. But then I had to kind of take a step back and be like, Well, what is it really serving? Because I was looking back at one of my planners and every week because I do, like, a week at a glance page in my Journal.
And every week I had all these to do items, right. And then I break them down. And what I ended up doing was every day I had about twelve to 15 to do items on a list for every day, and I would look at them in the morning, and I'd automatically feel great about myself. Like, yeah, look at all these things I'm going to do. And more often than not, those things wouldn't get done. Something else would come up, and I would just migrate them to the next day.
And then it just kind of became like I was looking at my terminals. I started feeling really unaccomplished every now and then there'd be things I was doing. But I was also doing a number of things. I was kind of overestimating what I could do in a day. I was putting really big to do items on my list instead of breaking them down. But I also was really leading with my ego. And what I mean by that is I was really being like, Well, if I write down all these things to do today and I get them done, then I'm going to feel so awesome.
I know I'm going to be like, I'm going to have this great confidence. And I was kind of setting myself up for this unrealistic expectation. So what I really started doing instead of focusing on, like, big to do list, every day is every couple of days and the beginning of every week or every Sunday night, I sit down and I kind of do, like, a big brain dump. But specifically for tasks on my mind that I want to do. So I will write down everything in my head that's, like, spurring around, oh, I need to do this, or I need to map out a podcast episode or I really need to update my blog.
Oh, my gosh. I have to update our insurance and our address on this specific credit card. There's all these things I need to do, and I write them all down in this one specific space. And what this really does is a couple of things. First, it allows me to kind of, like, declutter my mind and get everything out there. But then also it makes me really realize how many of these things are actually things I need to do. And then how many of them are things that maybe aren't so important.
So then I'm able to really prioritize. And instead of making this long to do list every day, I come up with the top three priorities that I really need to do. What are the three things I need to do today that I cannot not do that have to happen so that my business moves forward so that I meet goals or so that I meet client needs so that I complete the tasks I need to do for any contract work, any of that kind of stuff or even just like, from a personal level, what are the things that I need to do?
So I feel good in my home, any of that stuff and just really getting clear. So it's kind of like I have this priority list, and then I always have the brain dump list of tasks and I can kind of go back in there and it's really helpful. And I found that kind of just letting go of this attachment to having to have a giant todo list and having to check things off in order to feel successful makes me feel a lot better about myself at the end of the day.
And instead of sticking to to do lists all the time, the biggest thing that I actually love doing now is creating a success list. So this is kind of the opposite thing. Instead of making a big list of, like, 20 things I need to do in a given day throughout the day. Instead, I have another place in my planner where I write down things that I've done. This is fun. You guys like, when you're able to leave work and look at a list of things that you've done instead of a list of things that you haven't done, everything is going to shift in your mind because even the smallest things that you do will build your self efficacy and they will make you feel really good.
So, for example, one thing I do is like, I will get up in the morning and if I'm having a good morning and I'm on top of stuff and I make my bed, that's going on my success list. If I get out the door on time that goes on my success list, if I complete a task early at work that goes on there, if I responded to all my emails and cleared out my email inbox that goes on there, right? Like, you get the point. If I had a really healthy lunch where I drank 100oz of water before noon or whatever it is that goes on there and they don't have to be big things, they can be things.
It's kind of like a win list, right? It's a success list. And what's so great is that if I'm having a low day, all I have to do is look down because how many times at the end of the day or, like, 03:00 p.m. Hits and you're like, I haven't gotten anything done today. Nothing has gotten done. Nothing's happened because then you're in that mindset, right where you've told yourself nothing has happened. Today was a complete failure, a flop. It was a waste of time. Then you make it really hard for your brain to come up with evidence against that.
But you basically just told your brain in your mind. Yeah, we need to find things. Sarah just told us that today was a wash. So if anyone wants to come forward and support that, we'd like to hear that it's kind of like going into a meeting. And if a manager is like, these are all the reasons why we suck and why we haven't met these goals and why you guys are doing poorly, all the employees are going to be like, oh, no. Like, yeah, maybe he's right.
Maybe she's right. This is bad. And it can be hard to be that employee that stands up and goes, like, Wait a minute. We've actually done all this, and it's great. So you have to think about how your thoughts are impacting your mind as well. So when you have a success list and when I look at this at the end of the day or 03:00 p.m. Or whenever I'm having that afternoon slump, it's like, oh, yeah, I have done a lot today, and then you can kind of reassess, too, right?
Like, okay, I've done all these things and they've made me feel good, and I forgot that I did that. And then you can kind of look at your top three priority list and be like, how many things connect to that one thing or what do I need to do and focus on for the rest of the day to hit that priority list? If I haven't already and it changes everything, it really makes you feel a lot better. And it not only builds your self efficacy, but it also shows you how much you're capable of, and it can really change a lot of things for you in terms of your mindset, because we are so hard on ourselves even when we're not.
We really are. We underestimate our ability. We tend to be a little bit humble. We don't want to talk about the things that we're being really successful with or really owning because we don't want to come across as super arrogant or overconfident. But the truth is that we really need to think about the things that we're doing every day because you're doing a lot every day. And I want you to try this success list if you haven't already and just see how it fits with you, see what comes up for you, what's changing?
What have you realized that you've done that? Maybe that you haven't taken a really hard look at most days of the week. And as you have that's that success list. And as you focus both on balancing the outcome of what you want to work on versus the process. And you work on really aligning the process, creating a process that feels really good in the moment that helps you reach that outcome, you're only going to get to that outcome faster, more consistently in a more sustainable way.
So really, this all comes back to redefining and rethinking productivity and your daily productivity. It's really focusing on what you're doing, what you're doing well. And when you focus on that, then you're able to shift things, then you're able to really look at your actions and your time management and go, oh, yeah, this is going well or this isn't. And the overwhelm just kind of starts to dissipate. One thing, too, I tell people, is that when it comes to coming back to the to do lists, when it comes back to that, we try to do so much in one day.
And sometimes the most powerful thing we can actually do is to just focus on one thing at a time, consistently focusing on one thing that will really impact your day in a positive way, impact your job, impact your personal life, your relationships. Think about that. And ultimately, you are in control of your productivity. You're in control of how you measure it and how you want to feel. And just because you're getting more done doesn't mean that you're making the progress that you really want to have.
Just because you are blowing over and trying to get to that treasure chest like I was doesn't mean that you're actually enjoying the experience. And what's the point of being super productive if you don't enjoy the process? What's the point of sure we can reach outcomes, we can have tangible results. We can wow our clients or our boss or our coworkers or our friends and family. But at the end of the day, if we don't feel good about it and we don't enjoy the process, it's going to show in the end result of our work.
So take a minute today to really think about ways that you can change your process that align with your outcomes and make a success list today. And let me know how it goes. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of The Mindful Mindful Productivity Podcast. Get more information about what we discussed today Mindful Productivity Podcast. You can also always follow along on Instagram Mindful Productivity Podcast. Thanks so much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.