I Didn't Do The Thing Today

On letting go of productivity guilt

Madeleine Dore author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Murdoch Books

Published:6th Jan '22

£12.99

Available for immediate dispatch.

I Didn't Do The Thing Today cover

'A radical masterpiece ... While many books insist on changing your life, this one invites you to deepen and expand it.' - Mari Andrew, author of My Inner Sky

'Deep, thoughtful, gently instructive, nourishing.' - Clare Bowditch, author of Your Own Kind Of Girl

'Read it and sigh with relief.' - Hugh Mackay, author of The Kindness Revolution


Any given day brings a never-ending list of things to do. There's the work thing, the catch-up thing, the laundry thing, the creative thing, the exercise thing, the family thing, the thing we don't want to do, the thing we've been putting off (despite it being the most important thing). Even on days when we get a lot done, the thing left undone can leave us feeling guilty, anxious or disappointed.

After five years of searching for the secret to productivity, Madeleine Dore discovered there isn't one-instead, we're being set up to fail. I Didn't Do the Thing Today is an inspiring call to take productivity off its pedestal, to embrace the joyful messiness and unpredictability of life.

For anyone who has ever felt the pressure to do more, be more, achieve more, this antidote to our doing-obsession is the permission slip we all need to find our own way.

'While many books insist on changing your life, this one invites you to expand your life. A radical masterpiece.'
- Mari Andrew, author of My Inner Sky

'Deep, thoughtful, gently instructive, nourishing.'
- Clare Bowditch, author of Your Own Kind Of Girl

'A remarkable combination: part broadside against our culture of frenetic busyness, part consolation for the days when things don't go to plan.'
- Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

'An important case for worrying less about getting things done and more about the things that are worth doing. I found a lot to steal here and you will, too.'
- Austin Kleon, New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist

'Incredibly relatable and perhaps more importantly, very necessary. A brilliant and timely book!'
- Julia Busuttil Nishimura, author of Ostro

'Read it and sigh with relief.'
- Hugh Mackay, author of The Kindness Revolution

  • Long-listed for Best Designed Non-Fiction Cover 2023 (Australia)

ISBN: 9781922351500

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 336g

296 pages