How to deal with a productivity addiction that is causing you pain
Our obsession in modern society to do more is based only on our concern to do more harder, better, faster, and more decisively. We accelerate our engines to maximum speed, fill our workdays with chores, and then feel guilty if we take a moment to call a friend or read a book for pure pleasure.
Dependence on productivity is a real phenomenon, similar to dependence on a substance or food, which can lead to maladaptive behavior. From a clinical point of view, addiction occurs when someone engages in something that gives pleasure. Still, the constant use or action becomes obsessive to such an extent that it interferes with the performance of normal life duties (work, relationships, or health). Even worse, the person with an addiction may not realize that his behavior is getting out of control.
5 ways to deal with a productivity addiction
1. Rebuild a negative conversation with yourself
“You need to finish your work—of course, you shouldn’t go anywhere tonight!” Does that sound familiar? How about “You’re not making good use of this time—that’s why you haven’t been promoted yet.” The next time your inner critic accuses you of not being good enough or working hard enough, fight back. Don’t let your thoughts run through your brain that you wouldn’t say out loud to your best friend.
2. Say no
Stop making a to-do list out of guilt or a desire to please. Turn down any new responsibilities that don’t contribute to your professional or personal growth or that you really don’t have time for. Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M .For the full article.
3. Stop talking about the big game and act for real
It’s one thing to give tips on improving productivity or to talk about ambitious plans that you have for your business, but in the end, the main thing is to act. It also means resisting the urge to complain (or brag) about how depressed you are, whether it’s about a Bloody Mary at breakfast or 140 characters on Twitter. Being productive in a healthy sense means not needing validation.
4. Accept downtime as recharging time
Although you may feel like you’re wasting your time if you don’t cross something off your to-do list, the opposite is often the case. The most significant ideas can come to your mind at the very moment when you are not distracted and are not looking through emails. Allow your brain to relax to regain your attention and focus. The author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, who assessed how to form healthy habits in her life, committed to never looking at her smartphone when she goes somewhere to allow herself to think freely.
5. Embrace “just in time” learning
Increased productivity often leads to unproductive multitasking. Instead, focus and do one thing at a time. Use only the information you need to complete your current task, which is called “just-in-time training. “This approach encourages you to collect information only as needed rather than accumulate it and try to study a huge number of things in depth.
If you are working on starting your own business, you need to focus solely on teaching sales skills to attract your first paying customer rather than learning how to create an entire website and marketing funnel from scratch. The time will come for that. But not now.
Of course, enjoying the feeling of productivity is not such a shame. Everything that surrounds us—billboards, movies, our Facebook feeds, overheard conversations at the gym—makes us live life to the fullest. We must always strive to do more, offer more, and accomplish it all faster. It seems to us that if we don’t keep up, we’ll fall behind and never be able to catch up.
