Productivity Culture Sold You a GPS. You Need a Compass.

Stop optimising. Start orienting. [+ free worksheet]

I’m a pretty organised person.

Not because I’m naturally organised. Quite the opposite, actually.

I’m organised because without structure, my life gets chaotic quickly. So I’ve built ways to stay on track.

My morning routine is pretty solid (I’m not a morning person either, but that’s for another newsletter). Every task I need to do is in my calendar, scheduled, colour-coded. And it works for me. Most of the time.

But here’s the problem with being rigidly organised: when things don’t go according to plan, I kinda freak out.

Like last Tuesday.

I had my day mapped out perfectly. Work blocked from 9am to 1pm. Deep focus time. No meetings. Just me and the work project I’d been planning to tackle.

Then I just... didn’t have it.

Bad sleep. Woke up zonked, physically and mentally. My brain had absolutely zero capacity for deep work.

But my calendar said “9am–1pm: Deep work.” So I sat at my desk anyway. Laptop open. Coffee cold. PowerPoint blank. Like an idiot.

And instead of pivoting, I just... froze.

I created Spotify playlists (awesome ones, but that’s not the point). Scrolled Instagram. Convinced myself I needed to research something completely unrelated.

And of course, felt like absolute shit about wasting three hours.

But here’s the thing: I built all these “systems” because that’s what we’re told to do, right?

Optimise everything. Schedule everything. Hustle. Be disciplined. Track your habits. Maximise your productivity. Basically: treat your life like a perfectly programmed GPS.

If you’ve used GPS, you know its thinking: it makes you rigid, panicky, and completely unable to handle real life when it doesn’t follow your perfect plan.

So what do you actually need?

You need a compass.

GPS thinking vs Compass thinking

Think about the last time you used GPS.

You’re driving along, following the route perfectly, and then suddenly there’s roadworks. Or, more likely if you’re like me, you miss a turn.

What does the GPS do?

It loses its mind.

“RECALCULATING. TURN AROUND. YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAYYYY!!”

One wrong turn and it acts like the world is ending. It treats every deviation as a failure.

This is what productivity culture has sold us: the perfect morning routine, the optimised schedule, the exact steps to success.

So when life inevitably doesn’t cooperate? You feel like you’ve failed.

Now think about a compass.

A compass doesn’t care about the specific route. It just points you towards what matters: your goal, your direction, your values.

The path might twist. The path might turn. You might take detours.

But you’re still heading in the right direction.

This isn’t just poetic.

It’s grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which talks about “choice points.”

At any moment, you can either move towards what matters (even when it’s uncomfortable), or move away from discomfort (even when it takes you further from your goals).

The “Away Move” (GPS Mode)

There’s often a gap between who we want to be and who we’re actually being. That gap can feel deeply uncomfortable.

So, to avoid the discomfort, our brain makes an “away move.”

Scrolling instead of working.

Snapping at someone instead of having the hard conversation.

Telling ourselves stories like, “I’ll start when I feel more confident,” or “I’m just not a morning person.”

These moves and stories protect us from discomfort right now, but they keep us trapped and eliminate progress.

They are the rigid, panicky demands of your GPS.

The “Compass Move”

The alternative is the “compass move.”

This is any action that points you back toward your values, even if it’s uncomfortable in the short term.

It’s the voice that says:

“I’m moving towards doing work that matters.”

“I’m moving towards connection.”

“I’m moving towards being healthier.”

Asking for help. Starting the work for just five minutes. Resting intentionally instead of numbing out.

These are compass moves.

Small but directional. They keep you heading in your valued direction, even when the path looks nothing like you planned.

When you add in stress or burnout, your brain goes into full survival mode, making “away moves” the default.

That’s when having a compass is most critical.

Want to map your own compass?

If you want to put this into practice, I’ve created a free worksheet called Your Personal Compass: A Choice Point Guide. It helps you identify your GPS patterns, reconnect with your values, and plan your compass moves.

Download it here, it’s free (plus all the future worksheets I create for this newsletter).

Already a subscriber? The worksheet is in your inbox :)

How to switch to Compass Mode

As a coach, I’ve learned that asking the right questions shifts everything faster than any advice ever could.

Before you jump to action, pause and ask yourself:

• What am I actually avoiding right now? (Not the task. The feeling underneath it.)

• If I wasn’t afraid, what would I do differently today? (Just today. Not my whole life.)

• What’s one compass move I could take in the next ten minutes? (Ten minutes, not ten hours.)

• Am I treating this like a GPS (demanding a perfect route) or a compass (staying oriented towards what matters)?

• Who do I want to be in this situation, and what would that version of me do?

Sit with these. Don’t rush to answer. Sometimes the question itself is the compass move.

Practical ways to live in Compass Mode

🌱 Start ridiculously small. Not “I’ll exercise for 30 minutes.” Just “I’ll put my trainers on.” One degree of adjustment is still movement.

🌱 Notice your away moves. When you’re scrolling, withdrawing, or stuck, just observe: “I’m avoiding this because I’m anxious.” Awareness is the first step.

🌱 Support your biology. Sleep, food, movement. When your nervous system is depleted, even your compass stops working. Sometimes the most important compass move is rest.

🌱 Accept the discomfort. You don’t need to feel motivated first. You can feel stuck and still take one small step.

🌱 Ask yourself: what would a compass move look like right now? What would move you one tiny step closer to who you want to be?

A note on mental health

If you’re feeling stuck because of depression, burnout, trauma, or other mental health challenges, please speak to a professional. Sometimes we need proper professional support, not just better strategies.

The bottom line

Productivity culture wants you to optimise, schedule, and control everything. To follow the perfect route.

But life doesn’t work like that.

The way forward isn’t to wait for motivation or find the perfect path. It’s to put away the GPS, pick up your compass, orient yourself towards what matters, and take one small step in that direction.

Even when you still feel stuck. Even when the path looks nothing like you planned. Even when you can only see one step ahead.

Your compass knows the direction.

So next time my calendar says “deep work” and my brain says “nope”, I’ll take one compass move instead. Close the laptop, take a walk, and come back aligned.

So tell me: what’s one tiny compass move you could take today? Hit reply and let me know!

With love,
Noemie x

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