Reactionary Productivity: Worth the stress?
A case for standardized productivity
If you’re not the type to keep track of what you need to do, you usually have those moments where you quickly remember something you need to do. This leads to you getting panicked and stressed.
Although this sounds debilitating, these feelings are actually motivating and get your heart pumping & blood flowing. When you actually take care of said task, it reinforces this loop of hyper stress and the resulting relief. It becomes hard to change this type of habit when the feeling of relief is commensurate with the stress. Although this roller coaster can seem glamorous, it’s actually a train wreck waiting to happen.
Growing up, I was abysmal in productivity. In school, I thought planners were for girls along with all their other cutesy stationery.
I’d rely on my ol’ noggin to know what I needed to do.
If I couldn’t remember it, I presumed it probably wasn’t very important.
This bad habit led to missed deadlines, or best case, low quality work minutes before assignments were due. Much of our productivity and value in the work place and other environments is based on our ability to organize our lives. No matter how you slice it, everything has a very specific importance. We may label it with priorities or due dates but at the end of the day each item has an expectation associated.
So where does this leave us? Can sustained productivity be as rewarding as those jolts? Most definitely. (See blog post on Flow.) When you become results-driven, you no longer pat yourself on the back for small wins based on urgency; instead you reward yourself when you can actually move the needle. Constantly reacting to expectations makes us feel like robots. However when we take initiative and empower ourselves, we actually feel human. For instance, when you sleep and wake up at a different time everyday, you need an alarm clock. However, when you have a routine you wake up naturally since your body understands what’s needed. Synergies are unlocked when we establish patterns and processes. The same way we approach sleep we need to approach productivity. These are two of the many components of wellness, a harmony we strive to achieve. Although this harmony can’t be achieved overnight, it still has the potential to last a lifetime.
Don’t you think it’s worth a shot?
