Like most of my clients and entrepreneurs I know, I’m really busy. But I admit that I don’t always feel productive.

With the 24/7 nature of work and the constant flow of information, there are always more emails to answer, more articles to read, more potential projects to be evaluated, more meetings to attend…

Sometimes it feels like one’s “work” is never done.

Recently, after a morning spent staring at pixels and tapping on the keyboard, I had a productivity epiphany when I took a break for lunch.

I noticed that I had a banana, a pear, a nectarine and some strawberries, so I decided to make fruit salad. Since I was using a sharp knife, I had to really focus on what I was doing. It was surprisingly satisfying to carefully cut each piece of fruit, slicing the banana, dicing the nectarine. When I tossed everything together in a bowl, I actually felt proud of what I had created.

Clearly something was going on here that was more profound than just preparing a nice lunch. Why did I feel a greater sense of accomplishment after 5 minutes making fruit salad than I did after hours of working at my desk?

So much of the work that we do is intangible and subject to endless revisions. We send emails, leave voicemails, create electronic documents. Contracts are signed electronically, without the flourish of getting out your good pen. We rarely even experience the simple satisfaction of printing a final document and sealing it in an envelope. “Done” consists of clicking “save” one more time and hitting “send”. When we finish a task or a project, we go right to the next, similar, electronic activity. Not particularly satisfying.

If you don’t feel a sense of completion or satisfaction with the work you’re doing, at the end of the day you won’t feel productive, no matter how busy you’ve been or how much time you’ve spent.

So, what can you do? You can change your perspective. You can decide what it means to be productive, moment by moment, day by day. You can declare something “complete” and let yourself feel proud of getting it done.

Now don’t rush to toss your To Do list and blow off your responsibilities. There are still things you have to do. But consider putting more attention on the things you want to do. Steven Covey makes the important distinction between what’s urgent and what’s important. Time is finite. You can’t borrow it or bank it. Use it well.

Each morning think of a few things that you want to get done — things that will make you feel like you’ve had a productive day. What would make the most difference for you? For your business? Maybe it’s clearing off the piles on your desk. Or making that phone call you keep avoiding. Or playing catch with your kid after dinner.

When you do complete one of those things, really let yourself feel it. Pause and let the feeling sink in. Celebrate all victories, no matter how small.

Remember the fruit salad!

 -Lisa Zaslow
Gotham Organizers, professional organizers and productivity consultants
@GothamOrganizer

***This was Best Business Tip #46. Read the other 99 Best Business Tips.***