How to Overcome Post-Work Guilt After an Unproductive Day
The key to getting back on track
Every day feels like a quest: I must outdo yesterday and the day before. Article after article. Day after day.
Sometimes, I feel guilty for not doing as much work as I’d like. Disappointed with the high standards I’ve set myself, I’ll overthink it to the point of exhaustion.
When you don’t meet your high standards, openly criticizing yourself too much is a slippery slope. Soon, you’ll find it pretty difficult to accept that you aren’t a machine. You’re human.
Days don’t have to end like this, however. In recent weeks, I’ve taken some decisive steps to stop feeling guilty after a day’s work. With these, it makes it easier to accept what’s behind and move on.
Create a List of Highly Specific Tasks
For months, when I wrote out my to-do lists or any task for that matter, I would only focus on the big stuff. I’d say “write an article” or “workout.” Sure, those are relatively essential things, but they cover too many bases.
Whenever I didn’t complete these, I’d feel like a failure. “The only things I needed to do today, and I didn’t,” I’d tell myself. “What an idiot.” Toxicity spread until it took hold of my approach to…
