The Two Bee Productivity Framework (For increased clarity and output)

In order to be more productive, I think of myself as two bees: a queen bee and a worker bee.  The queen bee is a visionary. She can look far into the future and consider the past. She judges morality and purpose. Her fundamental question: is this the right thing to be doing? She's the captain helming the ship. But, she’s not good at getting anything done. She needs her faithful counterpart: the worker bee. Worker bees have a one-track mind. They unemotionally complete any task placed in front of them by the queen bee. The worker bee loves a defined checklist and never concerns herself with any existential questions. At their core, the worker doesn’t ask any questions except “what am I doing right now?” Queen bee thinks. Worker bee does. Finding the right balance between being a queen bee and a worker bee is at the core of efficiently creating meaningful work. 

(To the melittologist readers, I’m sure I butchered any actual description of bee culture. My sincere apologies.)

The Dreaming Queen Bee

We all know a visionary: someone who has their life mapped out far into the future. They know exactly what their calling and purpose is, yet they spend all their time in this futuristic la la land that doesn’t exist. They let their queen bee take over every waking thought. They freeze. With every step, they question if it’s the right one. They’re so concerned with the weather, if there will be any flowers, and if the wind is picking up, that they won’t even take off from the hive. A dreaming queen bee can’t grit its teeth and push through hard things because their headspace is already in the future. 

The Obsessive Worker Bee

Movement is not progress. We often trick ourselves into thinking our day was productive if we completed our checklist. But it was only productive, if that checklist took you in the direction you wanted to go. When a worker bee forgoes questioning their work, they could spend one, five, maybe ten years doing something that makes them miserable. They’re so zoned in trying to complete their project in the present moment. The obsessive worker bee is so proud that he’s flown miles and miles, but it means nothing if he flew away from any flowers. 

A Successful Hive

One of my favorite things to do is define clearly when I’m supposed to be the worker bee and when I’m supposed to be the queen bee. Each morning, I follow a routine checklist. Months ago, the queen bee decided what needed to be on this list. Instead of floating around in the mornings deciding what needs to be done, I can instantly engage my worker bee mentality, and follow the checklist. Now, I shouldn’t follow the same routine forever. I must let the queen bee step in and modify my routine with some regularity. Personally, I’ve always had an inclination towards the obsessive worker bee mentality. My blinders are so zoned in on completing whatever I’m doing with excellence, but I rarely question if that task was even the right thing to be doing. Recently, I’ve tried to implement weekly and monthly “queen bee check-ins”. Every day you don’t need to be thinking “is this the right job for me?” But every once in a while you need to return to the hive and make sure you’ve been flying in the right direction.