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The 3 Most Common Reasons I Hit Productivity Ruts + What I Do About Them
Focusing on identifying and removing the largest barriers to good work…
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Productivity ruts happen. You have to hit a dip to be able to bounce back and have good days. It’s how you react to the dips that matters.
But it’s better if you can prevent the drop in productivity from happening in the first place so you don’t have to implement damage control when you start to realise you’ve gone days without making any real progress.
I’ve noticed some things that are very consistent across every time I find myself struggling with creating. They’re clear to see for someone who steps back and looks into what might be going wrong, but whilst working you might not spot them. I’ve fallen victim to not zooming out
That’s what this article’s for. Enjoy!
1. I neglect my physical health
I understand that this is very broad, but it’s all important. Your body is a marvel of biological engineering, with huge numbers of regulatory systems running to keep your brain functioning.
The better we treat these regulatory systems, the better our brain functions, so we can create our best work.
Many of us will know the feelings of brain fog and fatigue — they’re two of the biggest killers of being able to think straight and get your work done.
Things like drinking alcohol (as one sometimes does at university), poor sleep and spending too much time indoors have all been highly correlated with increased brain fog and fatigue for me, so I minimise their occurrences as much as possible.
That way I stay on top of the things I’ve got to do. This is important because falling behind leads you into a reactive state in which you likely make poor decisions, not zooming out to see the larger picture of your situation and its next steps.
