Give yourself credit for the problems you managed before reaching the visible task.
REFLECTION
REFLECTION
The visible task sits at the end of a long chain that nobody counts. Getting there involved arrangements, interruptions, decisions made quickly, a difficulty handled before breakfast that nobody will ever hear about. When you tally the day by what was formally achieved, all of that vanishes, and you are left comparing a short list against an exhausting morning.
Write down what it took to arrive at the point where the real work could start. Include the things you sorted out for other people. Count them as done rather than as the friction that stopped you doing more.
What did you sort out today before the real work even started?
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.