Why I Have A Love-Hate Relationship With Productivity

It’s 6 o’clock in the morning and my alarm clock rings. It’s time for me to workout. I pick up my phone, connect it to my pods and run on the treadmill while listening to a podcast. Two birds, one stone.

I get my workout in and it’s now time to head to work. I finish the podcast and begin listening to an audiobook while I prepare for work. One hour down and it’s time to hit the road. At this time, it’s about 8:30 AM. 8:30–9:00 AM is my learning hour. I switch over to my LinkedIn Learning course, dabbling between maneuvering through traffic and listening in for the key points from the course.

It’s now 9 o’clock, and in 3 hours time, I’ve worked out, listened to a podcast, made progress on my audiobook and got some learning in. All before a day’s work. #PRODUCTIVITY #YouCanDoItAll

If you’re like me that sounds like an exhausting morning. What happened to free idling time? What happened to experiencing boredom?

I have nothing against the concept of productivity. In fact I’m a firm believer in being efficient in all that I do. However, I recognize the damage that today’s productivity messaging is having on us. We are expected to ‘grind’ and utilize every minute of every day doing something ‘productive’. This mentality is not only exhausting and unsustainable, it can also lead to burnout, bouts of depression and anxiety.

So how do we avoid the productivity trap? Honestly, this is something I’m still figuring out. I occasionally find myself back in it but here are two ways I get myself out:

1. I run a sustainability test. Things that are intense are not sustainable (see image above), and if the action is not sustainable then I don’t include it in my routine. My goal is to have productive, sustainable, replicable days that leave room for me to exist and rest (with exceptions of course). So if I’m trying to do too much, it will not pass the sustainability test and I’ll realise I’m back in the productivity trap and get myself out. It’s all about consistency & reaping the benefits of compounding through consistent practice.

2. I ask myself ‘why’. Am I doing X because I genuinely want to or do I want the feeling of ‘busyness’ (being busy)? Sometimes I have a podcast I’m excited to listen to and I make time for it while driving or eating lunch, while sometimes I do it because I feel like I need to be doing something. Same activity, different motivators. The ‘why’ matters and identifying the ‘why’ will help you know if you are back in the trap.

These are two ways I use to get myself out of the productivity trap. However, beyond getting out of the trap, it's important to also assess your relationship with productivity. Take some time and assess the relationship between what you do, your achievements and failures, and who you are, your value/worth as a person. Who you are, should not be linked to what you do. Your sense of self should go beyond your output but that’s a topic for another day.

I’ll leave you with a quote I love:

So when thinking about productivity, don’t think of it in terms of all the things you need to do/your goals, but instead consider if the routines and systems you have can sustain the goals you have while allowing a semblance of a life. If not, then it might be time to rethink your goals (are they realistic?) or your productivity routine. (You can check out my habits e-book to help you establish/re-think your routines in a healthy and effective manner.)

I wish you a healthy and productive week. ;)

#ChooseToThrive

PS: If this is something you struggle with or can relate to feel free to respond to this email with your tips/views or comment below.