Last week I had a really good work day and when it was done, I was satisfied and happy with how it went. The key to everything going well that day hinged on one thing: reliability. During that day:
- I could rely on myself to get the work done because I had done it before and knew what it took to do it in terms of time and other resources
- The resources I needed to work with were also reliable: nothing was breaking down or old or flaky. I had time. I could focus on the task at hand.
- I could also focus because my work environment was also reliable. I had no interruptions. I had no need to make changes to my work area or the area around me. I had the supplies and access I needed.
- Additionally the people I was working with were reliable. If I needed anything, I could ask them for help and they would provide it.
If you are struggling to have productive days like that, ask yourself: is a lack of reliability contributing to the problem? If so, make it part of your solution to increase the thing you lack ASAP. And it’s not just a matter of being productive: being able to rely on the people and things and events in your life leads to be a better life generally. So dump those people you can’t depend upon. Trash those broken down tools you use. Find a better environment you can be certain of. Reliability and quality go hand and hand. Get more of both in your life. You’ll end up being more reliable for others as a result. The benefits ripple outwards.
Smart People I Know 
Sadly, it can sometimes be hard to “dump those people you can’t depend upon. Trash those broken down tools”. Although these are factors we should emphasise when we have a choice.
Agreed: sometimes we are stuck with unreliable things to work with. But I believe there is more choice than we assume.