Use this productivity strategy on days you’re really not feeling it

😐 Tip: Have a MVD (Minimum Viable Day).

In business, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of a product that contains the minimum feature set necessary to be usable. The priority for the team is not to deliver perfection but simply to ship it. We can use this concept on days we’re feeling blah. On Medium, Rebecca Pendleton introduces us to what she calls the minimum viable day (MVD).

How do you have an MVD? Well, on a day when you’re exhausted or overwhelmed or just feeling off, you plan to do just enough to get through it. As Pendleton explains, you’re not checking out completely—rather, you’re doing exactly what you need to do to “prevent chaos breaking out” (answer critical emails, finish anything that a boss or client needs immediately, etc). Pendleton notes that an MVD is a quick-fix strategy for regaining your energy and not a replacement for proper time off. “You are not a machine,” she writes. “You are most likely performing exceptionally well 99% of the time, and sometimes we need to take a day to look after ourselves so that we can go back to being on form later.”

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