The productivity paradox: what a bad back can teach us about getting things done
📸 by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
Sometimes our biggest constraints become our greatest teachers
My client calls to apologise - she has to cancel our session because her back is so painful she can't sit at her desk.
We reschedule for ten days later.
When we finally connect, I ask about her back. Still sore, but improving. Ten days of pain sounds rough, so I dig deeper.
'Do you know what caused it?'
'Oh yes,' she says matter-of-factly, 'sitting at my desk too long. I know when I get the warning twinges, but I ignore them and press on. Sometimes I don't move for 3 or 4 hours straight. I want to get stuff done.'
Perhaps we've all been there?
That familiar trap of thinking that working harder, longer, with fewer breaks is the path to getting more done. The false economy that winds up with a sore back and rapidly diminishing returns on our increasing time investment.
My client gestures to the floor behind her. 'I've spent most of the last ten days trying to work on a laptop, lying on my back on the floor.'
I ask: ‘So how did that work out?’
I’m ready for an 'I got absolutely nothing done' confession...
But she surprises me completely.
'I actually got more done these last ten days than I normally would!'
Wait, what? That doesn't sound like typical productivity advice!
So we explored this unexpected revelation, and what emerged were three critical insights that challenge what many of us think we know about getting things done.
The power of forced constraints
First: working in bursts changed everything.
My client could only work in 30-minute blocks before the pain forced her to stop, break, spend time stretching and return for another 30-minute block. There was also a limit to how many 30-minute blocks she could do each day before her back gave her a hard ‘No!’. This meant her work days had natural boundaries - no blurring work into the evenings, no sacrificing exercise or time with family.
'I had to be very realistic about what was possible in these blocks,' she explained. 'I had to really break down bigger tasks, which was actually helpful.' She had to accept that she wasn’t going to get perfection in 30 minutes, she was going to get ‘good enough’ in small chunks and she was choosing progress over perfection.
That 'I've only got 30 minutes' mindset provided a crucial reality check for someone who, like many entrepreneurs, leans towards an optimism that can be unhelpful when it comes to time management.
The motivation of visible progress
Second: smaller chunks meant she could actually see progress.
Instead of setting 'ridiculously unachievable goals in unrealistic timeframes' (her words), the constraints forced her to work with what was actually possible. Each 30-minute block completed felt like a win.
'Normally I'd wind up feeling frustrated and demotivated that I didn't finish what I'd set out to do,' she reflected, 'even though no single human being could ever have done it.'
The frequent sense of completion and forward movement became fuel rather than the familiar cycle of setting impossible standards and feeling disappointed.
The wisdom of forced reflection
Third: those mandatory stretch breaks became strategic pauses.
After each work block, she had to stop and do physiotherapy exercises. But something unexpected happened during these breaks - she found herself naturally checking in and reflecting on what she'd just accomplished and what should come next.
'I've been making micro-adjustments,' she said. 'I haven't been heading off on less helpful tasks for hours before realising they aren't the most impactful thing to focus on.'
These weren't just physical recovery breaks - they became moments of strategic recalibration.
The broader pattern
This story reminded me of another conversation I had recently with a tech founder who was considering returning to full-time employment while continuing to develop his app. His worry? The dramatic reduction in hours he'd be able to dedicate to his business.
But as we talked it through, he reached the same conclusion as my client with the bad back: 'Having less time on the business might actually increase my focus and productivity.'
This theme of constraints helping with our focus might resonate with any occasional procrastinators in the room? A looming deadline can be a great tool to move us to purposeful action!
What constraints are teaching us
These aren't isolated incidents. They point to something fundamental about how we approach productivity and time as entrepreneurs.
We often mistake busy for productive. We confuse time spent with value created. We tell ourselves that if we're not pushing through discomfort (whether physical, mental, or emotional), we're not working hard enough.
But what if our constraints - whether imposed by a bad back, a day job, or simply choosing to work more sustainable hours - aren't limitations to overcome but a tool to increase impact?
What if the path to getting more done isn't about finding more time, but about using the time we have more intentionally?
The iteration mindset
This connects to something I've been exploring lately - the power of viewing everything we do as an iteration or prototype. When my client was forced into 30-minute work blocks, she couldn't afford to treat any single session as if it had to be perfect. In accepting ‘good enough’ - she told me she got a far better overall outcome and much more progress from her ten days than she normally would. This isn’t to suggest she would not have been working hard normally - working hard is her default behaviour. But what she was forced into doing now was working strategically or ‘smart’.
That mindset shift - from 'this has to be perfect' to 'this is just the current iteration' - removes the paralysing weight of getting everything right the first time. It makes starting easier, adjusting simpler, and progress more sustainable.
Practical applications
So what might this look like in practice for busy entrepreneurs who don't have a bad back forcing the issue?
Experiment with artificial constraints:
Try working in focused 25-50 minute blocks with mandatory breaks
Set 'closing time' for your working day and stick to it
Limit yourself to three priority tasks per day maximum
Build in reflection points:
Use transition moments (between tasks, meetings, or work blocks) to pause and ask: 'Is this still the most important thing I could be doing right now?'
End each day by noting what actually moved the needle, not just what kept you busy
Embrace the iteration approach:
Start with 'good enough' rather than perfect
View each work session as an iteration that can be improved next time
Focus on progress over perfection
The sustainable path forward
My client's back is healing now. She's returned to her desk, but with a different approach. She sets timers, takes regular breaks, and has learned to listen to those early warning signals.
More importantly, she's kept the productivity lessons her pain taught her. The constraints that felt limiting became liberating. The forced breaks that felt like interruptions became strategic advantages. The experience stretched her not only physically, but also helped her grow and have more impact.
Perhaps that's the real productivity paradox: sometimes getting less time to work gives us exactly what we need to work better.
What constraints in your life might actually be trying to teach you something about more sustainable success?