What does productive mean to you?
When you say your day was productive, does it mean you got a lot of things done?
Did you have a breakthrough with a problem you’ve been trying to solve?
Did you make a lot of progress on a task?
But what about the days where you wrestled with a project but don’t feel like you made any progress? Or the days that are really stressful or challenging? Or the days which you designated for rest and floated in a pool?
I would argue they are just as productive. When you apply yourself in a meaningful way, sometimes the results are intangible, and so you should feel the same satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.