I am a productivity junkie, but over the past 2 years since starting my personal growth journey and running my blog, I have come to notice that productivity isn’t everything.
Thinking of productivity we think of being super organized, busy, and getting shit done. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but what if you are looking at productivity the wrong way?
You have a full day of things to get done, but by the end of the day, you feel like you got nothing done? Your to-do list doesn’t look like it has changed? Same.
Teach ’em young
I have been told from the young age of 15. My first job at McDonald’s was that “if I have time to lean I have time to clean”. From then til now 20 years… I have prided myself on being productive, but getting nowhere when it was all said and done.
Balance was not a word I knew. My goal was always to try to get everything done. If I wasn’t getting “all the things” done I would beat myself up. That meant I was not good enough or a superhuman. I would burn myself out quickly thinking about and trying to do all the things I had to do.
Productivity = “busy”.
I realized most of my days were just being spent doing busy work. Things I thought I NEEDED to do but did not really benefit me in any way.
Yes, there are things I need to get done but did it have to be right then and there…In my post The Art of Getting Shit Done I show exactly how my day goes. I am sure I could streamline it a little bit more. It is a work in progress.
Does it benefit you in the long run?
Productivity should be looked at doing tasks that are going to benefit you in the long run. To really be productive is to get done all the tasks that are going to make your life or your job easier in the long run.
How to be productive in life – Meal prepping, picking outfits out for the whole week, routines and schedules to keep your home life on track.
Being productive at work – Batch working, Eat the frog
Have you heard that saying?? No… well let me share some wisdom with you. Mark Twain once said that:
“if it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
When creating a daily to-do list start with your most important tasks first. Do the hardest/biggest task first to get them out of the way and then everything else should be easy breezy after that.
You are not THAT important
Get it out of your head that being productive or being busy makes you important.
I loved when people would asking what I was doing that I could rattle off a bunch of stuff on my to-do list because it made me seem important. When I worked at a hotel walking around with a clipboard to prove my importance.
I was not important… This was just a way to prove to my boss I deserved a title and a raise. They didn’t see it that way. They saw it as oh she will do anything and everything we ask. She will run herself into the ground to make our jobs are easier. Not hers.
Ask yourself why?
Why is this on your list? Why does this needs to be done today?
If you can’t come up with a legitimate reason… it can go on the back burner for now. Until you can ask why…
It has been so nice planning my days out with what I think is important. What I think will help me in the long run.
Thinking about all the things I need to do for myself and for work I have been able to create routines and plans that work for me… not the other way around.
Make it work for you!
If you got some useful information out of this post please give me a like and comment on what your thoughts are about productivity?
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In the next couple of weeks, I am going to be starting a 30-day personal growth challenge. If you want to join me please click the freebies tab sign up for my email list on the freebies page to get the password to download your copy of the challenge as well as other freebies I have on there that you might enjoy. You also get notifications of when I publish a new post and a Monday round-up post to inspire you for the week.
Until next time my besties, have a great day and remember you are a badass!
woow…Thanks for sharing this, I wanna join you this 30 days personal growth challenge. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
I will be doing a post about it in the next couple of weeks. I have a printable you can download on my Freebies page.
I’m pretty productive but it tends to be a combination of work and house stuff. I try to squeeze in as much as I can but it’s important to take breaks too.
Absolutely Melanie. I work from home and have to be productive in both areas. Mornings are for blog work afternoons are for the house. Evening is for me and my family.
I do find that I sometimes do a lot but my list is no shorter. I am actually reconsidering all of the things I put on the list to make sure they actually need to be done! Productivity does not equal getting sh*t done — very true!
I have 2 different lists. One is a brain dump — All the things I need to do, want to do or think should be done. I pick out the most important tasks for the day and do those. Everything else is secondary.
Great tips, definitely teaching them early age is going to help a lot. Thank you for sharing!!
Productivity should be observed always. If you are not productive, then there will be lots of works left behind which, in return, you have to finish. As you said, productivity is not equal to busy. There are people who are busy but unproductive. Choose productive over being busy.
I could “LOOK” productive all damn day, but that doesn’t mean I got jack squat done.
Think smart is more beneficial than working hard. That is one piece of advice that someone told me a couple of years ago that stuck with me.
I love that piece of advice!
Many people mistakenly interpret the word busy. There are people who are busy, are unproductive, wasting too much time on nonsense things.
Exactly.
I couldn’t agree more. You can’t be very productive at all times, sometimes you do need to take a brake and just allow yourself not to chase the productivity for productivity’s sake
Yes, definitely. I have learned that the hard way.
Work Smarter Not Harder! That is a lesson that took me a long time to learn. Basically, I had to learn to first LEARN, then how to organize, then prioritize, and then be willing to let go of control and delegate other tasks.
Yes, I am working on the organizing part… lol
Tackling the bigger tasks has always worked for me to be productive and starting the day early. Thanks for sharing this
I always do the task I am dreading to do first. Get that out of the way and then it’s smooth sailing!
Wow i needed this. I am also one of those people who are just always doing something and can’t sit still and relax. We need a break once in a while hahaha
Is what you are doing benefiting you in the long run? or are you just busy to be busy??
Focus on being productive instead of being busy.
Thanks for sharing.