The Trap of Long-termism: Why Planning Made Me Less Productive

Long-termism can be deceiving

Sometimes, pursuing long-termism actually becomes a trap for perfectionism: since it's something you'll do for the long term, the beginning needs to be perfectly designed; the next month must follow your scheduled progress. This leads you into a kind of "planning-ism," which often lacks creativity, and with no feedback, it's easy to give up.

People who are truly long-term thinkers may never even consider whether what they're doing fits the "long-term" label—they simply feel fulfilled in the process.

Planning made me anxious

I used to be obsessed with planning. Every week, I'd list out what I needed to do each day, assigning projects I thought I was passionate about, believing this was long-termism. It felt great.

But in practice, it looked like this: every evening after work, I'd look at the items on my plan and feel anxious. I didn't want to start because it all seemed so hard. The next morning, I'd regret not doing anything the night before and resolve to be disciplined that evening. But when night came, the same pattern repeated.

Short-termism actually made me productive

For the past two weeks, I stopped making plans and just let my curiosity guide me. If something seemed interesting after work, I'd explore it. I didn't care whether it was "long-term"—just satisfying my present self was enough. I didn't even think about whether I'd continue the project tomorrow.

This reduced the pressure of starting something new significantly. Short-termism actually made me highly productive.

Long-termism is a state, not a goal

Here's an interesting realization: don't deliberately pursue long-termism. The things that are truly long-term aren't constantly emphasized in your mind—they exist as a natural state.

I'm not against long-termism. I just don't think we should mythologize it.