5 Anti-Productivity Hacks to Improve Your Life
From the Mother of an Infant Who Refuses to Start the Day at 5:00a.m.
When I first joined Medium, I fell down the “productivity guru” reading spiral. Perhaps, if you’re like me, you know what I’m talking about — the lists of ways to “take control” of your life. Often, these lists involve incredibly early wake-up times, morning gym routines, and daily journaling practices. Sometimes, a specific diet, a meditation app, or a call to quit social media might be thrown in the mix.
None of these practices are bad. Most of them — in some way, shape, or form, — can absolutely have a positive impact on your life (although, quitting social media may not be all its cracked up to be). But, there are two glaring problems with the productivity listicles that often flood my Medium homepage.
First, the often-large changes to routine and behavior suggested by these articles aren’t sustainable. Nor will they — in and of themselves — make you happy or successful.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, backs this up by differentiating between goal-based habits and identity-based habits. Setting the goal to wake up at 5:00a.m. everyday, so that you can be a productive person, is exactly what it sounds like: a goal-based habit. These, according to Clear, are not sustainable. An identity-based habit might look like this:
I want to be the kind of person who enjoys and finds purpose in the mornings.
Maybe this entails getting up at 5:00a.m.; maybe it doesn’t. You get to decide. As you figure out what makes sense for you, you can make small, incremental changes to inch closer to this version of yourself.
The second problem with productivity guru listicles is that they always forget the following major disclaimer:
NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH KIDS
I birthed my first child in June, and I love her more than anything. But six months later, I’m still waking up multiple times in the middle of the night.
So sure, I might be up at 5:00a.m. — or even 4:00a.m. — but I’m definitely not getting a head start on my competition.
I’m sort of burning calories — but that’s because I’m operating as someone else’s food source, boobs out while eyes flutter closed. I’m sort of meditating — but mostly just praying that she goes back to sleep quickly. That maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a much-coveted four-hour stretch of sleep, instead of a 1, 2, or 3 hour stretch.
So now, I read productivity articles (which I will not link, because I’m not mean) and get frustrated. Don’t get me wrong — I would love to cultivate better habits, to accomplish more of my to-do list , and to feel more in control of my life.
But none of these articles were written for me.
I notice now that most of the authors of these kinds of articles are men. I wonder — do they have children? If they do have children, do their partners do all the work? And if that’s the case, I don’t want to take advice from these people.
I’m not trying to be a productivity guru at my family’s expense.
And frankly, I think the whole thing is a capitalistic scam anyway. I don’t think I want to be a productivity guru at all.
So, instead, here are five anti-productivity hacks you can use today!
1.Take a nap.
Look, I know. Sleeping when the baby sleeps feels impossible. Or maybe you’re just too busy with work, errands, and/or general life. But once in awhile, an opportunity for a nap will appear. Maybe your mom has the kids. Maybe your Zoom meeting got cancelled.
You better run to that bed, that couch, that car, and shut your eyes.
Bonus Points: Leave your phone in a different room or otherwise hide it. There’s nothing worse than getting the opportunity for a nap just to waste it by scrolling on Instagram.
2. Play video games when you’re not supposed to play video games.
What’s that? The baby is actually taking a nap in the crib? You’re on your lunch break and the boss is out of town? You’re supposed to be cleaning the toilets but have decided they can wait?
Great.
Whip out Animal Crossing. Speed through the streets in Grand Theft Auto. Do whatever it is that people do on Skyrim.
Playing a game in the middle of the day is refreshing, reenergizing, and mood-boosting. Trust me, I know.
3. Re-Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Or any other cartoon/show that makes you happy. There’s science behind the mood-boosting and relaxing qualities of reruns. You might even pick up some advice or wisdom that you missed before, like
A man needs his rest, Zuko.
4. Play with your child.
You know who represents the direct opposite of productive? Your kid.
Is the objective to eat pureed green beans? They will 100% smear it on their face, shirt, and probably the dog before any of it makes its way into their mouth.
They need a toy at the other side of the room? Worst case scenario, they face plant multiple times on the way there. Best case, they get distracted by a different toy and forget all about the original item in question.
Or perhaps you have an older child or a teenager. I happen to think we can learn a lot from teens — especially how to relax.
Maybe you don’t have kids at all. I suggest playing with a pet.
Don’t have a pet? Put down the emails, and go get a pet. That’s it — that’s the hack for you.
5. Keep a little notebook with you — or maybe just the “Notes” app on your phone — and jot down things that stand out to you.
Maybe you’re thinking, this doesn’t sound anti-productive!
And maybe I am cheating with this one just a bit, but hear me out.
If you’ve never journaled, making the goal of setting aside time everyday to journal probably won’t work out. But the thing is, journaling can make us mindful, can help us work through problems, and can actually improve our wellbeing.
So, jot things down as you notice them. What did you find funny today? What color are the leaves? What thought crossed your mind about your mom, your dog, or your religion?
Write it in a paragraph.
Put it in a bullet point.
Speak-to-text a brief note in your phone.
It really doesn’t matter. I call this Lazy Journaling.
Over time, you’ll get to know yourself, without feeling bad about yourself because you don’t journal every morning. Maybe, over time, you’ll figure out what’s important to you, what success looks like to you.
Then, you can shape your habits in a way that makes sense for your life, your goals, and your hopes.
You don’t need a productivity guru to do that.
You just need you.
Thank you for reading! I’m new to Medium, but I write about motherhood, mental health, and education. I hope to see you around!
