Avoid pseudo-producitivity

by Dale Davidson March 18, 2026

Cal Newport blames a lot of knowledge worker exhaustion on the performative "pseudo-productivity," which he defines as:

"The use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort."

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

If you're a W2 employee, you probably have to do a lot of this type of work to move up. You have to attend useless meetings, do performance reviews, coordinate social functions, etc.

As a 1099, you can avoid much of this and focus on the few things that matter to your success: doing great work for your client, and establishing and maintaining relationships that will help you get your next gig.

Once you eliminate pseudo-productivity, you will feel far less stress and chaos on a day-to-day basis.

Though going 1099 has other stressors, it's at least the real kind and not the manufactured, artificial stuff of corporate W2 life.

Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.