Why Traditional Productivity Advice Causes Burnout - And How to Fix It!

Jamie Toyne
Aug 1
6 min read

Why productivity matters to me…

For as long as I can remember, a part of me has been obsessed with the next achievement, the next milestone, and the next level of performance.

You know that part of you … The one that treats vacations as strategic planning retreats turns casual hobbies into optimisation projects and refuses to celebrate today’s wins because tomorrow’s goals are already overdue.

"Give yourself a break", Mum would say.

"There's more to life", friends would remind me.

"Do you never switch off?" my partner would ask.

Although they made a fair point, I felt misunderstood because I wasn’t choosing to be this way – it’s how I’m wired. It’s like there’s an engine inside of me that won’t stop revving until I’ve squeezed every last drop out of the day.

To my skeptical psychologist friends reading this:

Yes, my ADHD, adoption, and childhood experiences hardwired me to measure my self-worth in achievements and treat external validation like oxygen for my fragile ego. Yes, 17 years of therapy, meditation and myriad mental health practices have drastically improved my relationship with myself.

But No, it hasn’t changed the way I am fundamentally wired. Productivity is still as important to me as ever. Not because it’s a shortcut to success but because it gives me this deep sense of fulfilment, knowing I’ve extracted every ounce of potential from the day.

It just feels good. But I tell you, what doesn’t feel good? Burnout.

Energy levels drop, productivity plummets, motivation dwindles, and my mind is flooded with unhelpful thoughts.

Why traditional productivity advice isn’t working

Like everything, we experience burnout on a spectrum - ranging from having an ‘off day’ to having a complete mental breakdown that takes months to recover from.

Before Flowjo, my ‘off days’ were as frequent as my ‘on days’, and the three burnouts that triggered a mental breakdown took 3-6 months to recover from each time.

Back then, I used to think that burnout was the price of being ambitious - but it turns out, it’s the cost of working against the way you’re wired.

This round hole you keep trying to fit through?

It’s every productivity method and performance model designed for neurotypical brains -rigid routines, discipline-driven systems, and one-size-fits-all strategies that clash with your cognitive wiring. And now that we live in an ADHD world – welcome to the jungle all you neurotypical folk 😈

Our devices have leveled the playing field by hijacking our brains and reducing us all into chronically stressed, over-stimulated dopamine junkies, who have the attention span and executive function of a panda on LSD at a bamboo convention 🐼🎋

Remember the Carrot & Stick I mentioned last week? It didn’t work when you were in school. It didn’t work when you had a boss. So why would it suddenly work now that you’re your own boss? (read here).

This drawing was inspired by Dr. Richard Schwartz who reveals that our mind isn’t a single entity but an ecosystem of ‘parts’. I drew it as a gentle reminder of the destructive relationship I had with myself when I used to rely on discipline and extrinsic motivation.

The General (me) sits atop his metaphorical high horse, with his lofty vision and strategic plan, while the Workhorse - that poor bastard crawling along the ground (also me) - is responsible for actually doing the work.

No matter how hard I tried or what I achieved – the carrot remained out of reach. The stick though? Oh, it got plenty of use.

Naturally, my Workhorse would rebel against the endless to-do lists and unrealistic deadlines. Bruised, battered and starving - his only means of protest was to sabotage progress by second-guessing decisions, avoiding tasks, and creating unnecessary chaos. This infuriated my General, who shamed and punished my lack of discipline by doubling down on the very system that was causing me to burnout in the first place.

This internal tug-of-war was the perfect formula for burnout: one foot on the accelerator, one on the brake, burning through fuel but going nowhere.

After years of fighting an uphill battle against myself, Portia Nelson helped me realise something that changed my life:

The problem wasn’t me - it was the system.

I had spent my entire tennis career and the first decade of my business career following productivity advice that worked against how I was wired - never once stopping to ask if there was a better way.

Turns out, there is - it’s called Flow.

Why Flow flips the script on traditional productivity advice

You have all experienced Flow before… It’s that altered state of consciousness where time disappears, distractions fade, and everything you do feels effortless. You also probably know that Flow is the holy grail of peak performance, where focus sharpens, creativity explodes, focus sharpens, and you’re literally 5x more productive.

But how does Flow flip the script on productivity?

Because unlike traditional productivity methods, Flow doesn’t rely on rigid systems, discipline, willpower, or external rewards.

Why? Because Flow is an ‘autotelic’ experience - which means the action becomes the reward in and of itself (i.e. intrinsic reward).

We don’t need to force productivity by dangling the carrot of future rewards or beating ourselves with the discipline stick for past failures.

Instead, we become completely absorbed in the present moment. And the reason it feels so GOOD is because our brains are bathing in a cocktail of performance-enhancing neurochemicals 🤤

But wait - there’s a catch…

Despite spending more time and money trying to unlock flow than ever before, we are experiencing less and less of it.

There are two reasons why we can’t access flow

The first is due to the ADHD world we now live in, and the second is due to the way we are taught to access flow. Given there's sweet f*ck all, you, or I, can do about the first one, we may as well address the way we are taught to unlock and master Flow.

In the West, we are told to “hack” our way into Flow with diets, sleep optimisation, supplements, morning routines, ice baths, meditation apps, and dopamine detoxes.

We are more likely to download a sleep-tracking app than we are to address the root cause of what's causing us to lose sleep in the first place.

And the irony is we’re taught to use the same bloody Carrot & Stick to enforce these habits and routines. However, in the East, Flow isn’t something we need to force, manufacture or acquire – it’s our natural state of being – there’s a limitless reservoir that already exists within us.

So, why can’t you access Flow? Because we’re too blocked. We are living so far out of alignment with our true nature that there’s no space for flow to emerge.

And how do you unlock and master Flow? Simple. Remove whatever is blocking your flow and let the rest take care of itself.

I call this the ‘Flowjo Formula’

The Flowjo formula: Flow + Mojo = effortless momentum

First, what on earth is Flowjo?

It’s just a word I made up that hopefully gets added to the dictionary someday, along with all the other made-up words. I took the word “Flow” - which is the pinnacle of peak performance and also our natural state of being.

And I mashed it together with the word “Mojo” – which is an Afro-Carribean word that means unique magical power, i.e. our unique strengths, passions, and cognitive wiring.

When you fuse the meaning of these words together, it makes for a powerful combo 🔥

You stop battling against yourself and start working WITH the way you’re naturally wired to perform at your best. The Flowjo Formula isn’t some rigid, one-size-fits-all framework—it’s about embracing your true nature and learning how to harness it.

Unlike traditional productivity methods that rely on discipline, willpower, and external motivation, the Flowjo Formula aligns everything in your life with your natural wiring, fueling intrinsic motivation, deep focus, and effortless momentum towards your goals.

In my upcoming Flowjo Drops, I’ll share stories and research on how this simple formula has helped high-achieving creatives and entrepreneurs to improve focus, increase productivity, scale faster, avoid burnout and actually enjoy the journey along the way.

So, how does the Flowjo Formula work?

The Flowjo formula in 3 simple steps

Step One: Embrace your true nature. Tap into what feels good, focus on what truly lights you up, lean into what naturally pulls you into flow, and hone in on the things you’re uniquely great at.

Step Two: Identify your blockers. Flow is all about energy, so ask yourself: “Where does the energy flow?” When you invest your energy into that task, person, or whatever it is – does the energy flow back to you? If it doesn’t… It’s a blocker.

Step Three: Remove your blockers. Start with the biggest blocker that’s draining the most energy – and take action. If you notice any resistance, figure out what it is, and ask yourself, “What’s the cost of staying blocked?” You can apply these three steps to any aspect of your life over and over again. Remember, the more blockers you remove, the more flow you get – it’s that simple.