Struggling to be Productive? Here’s the Escape Plan!
As a creative, you know productivity is essential in your work. When you are unproductive, it irks everyone — your employer, client, supervisor, and more importantly, you. It feels like you’re stuck in a spot, and it eats at your confidence and motivation. Meanwhile, the more productive you are, the more work you get and the more money you make. Plus, you get to post those sweet “I got a new job” posts on LinkedIn that makes everyone jealous.
There’s only one problem. Being productive is hard!
If you’re reading this, then you might be struggling with feeling unproductive and putting out quality work.
If this sounds relatable, then here’s what you need to know:
It is YOU. You’re self-sabotaging. And there is no nicer way to put it.
What’s more? That constant feeling of work-based anxiety cripples you further, making you struggle with even the most basic tasks. When you can’t seem to focus, you procrastinate, and then you feel upset at yourself, which makes you procrastinate even more. But hey, before you beat yourself up, you must know that this behaviour isn’t peculiar to you alone. However, some have learned a way to bypass the tendency to procrastinate, while many others haven’t.
Why is this so? Why do we get stuck in a loop of procrastination and unproductivity?
Why you aren’t productive enough:
You cannot work independently: In today’s corporate world, particularly for people working in the digital creative space, there is a need to work with minimal supervision. Working independently is a core proficiency that many people lack, especially newbies. Considering that today’s preferred and ideal work model is remote-based, individuals must be able to handle tasks and deliver on schedule, with minimal supervision or spoon-feeding. Anything short of this will result in a productivity decline for the individual worker and the organization. However, the reality is that many young professionals still struggle with the need for close management from a superior, making their work pace slow and their productivity rate low.
- You’re not motivated enough: For many skilled creatives, there is usually a tendency to wait for some striking moment of motivation. Due to this, we pile up personal projects and assigned tasks till the last minute, wherein we beg the universe and our brains for a miracle inspiration. Often, this creative inspiration comes when we’re in panic mode or when a crisis hits. Without this jolt of urgency, it is not unusual to experience a lack of creativity and motivation that results in unproductivity.
- You keep setting goals without building systems: Contrary to the self-help books that scream at you to ‘set targets!’, what you need to do is to create systems around your goals. It seems more straightforward, less striking, and a bit old-fashioned to follow established systems ensuring tasks are completed. However, it is highly vital.
Surprisingly, the most unproductive people seem to have the most ambitious goals. However, you must be aware that the point is not to set goals- because they do not guarantee productivity. Instead, they provide an overinflated sense of a ‘mission’ — which hardly ever gets accomplished. They put your mind on the grand idea that you are on to something, which will someday (perhaps) be achieved. On the other hand, when you put effective systems in place, you create a means to adopt little habits and daily routines that inevitably lead to desired outcomes.
4. You’re genuinely tired: We can’t rule this out. You cannot downplay it. Being fatigued from work and trying to get more stuff done is a terrible combination. There is no point in spending hours yawning at your desk or typing two lines of an article for two hours. Wearing that honour badge of working under pressure is counterproductive and unnecessary.
Now that we have established some of the causes of unproductivity. Let’s dive into some quick hacks you need to tackle and increase productivity.
- Use the Pomodoro Technique: The Pomodoro Technique implies that you block out a short period of 25 minutes to focus on your task, with a reward of short breaks afterwards, preferably 5 minutes. You can do this technique with the aid of a simple stopwatch, which signals your time for a well-deserved break when it goes off. After every four ‘Pomodoros’, you can take a more extended break, preferably one lasting 20 minutes or longer. Although this technique sounds quite simplistic, it is proven effective for people with low attention spans. This time management and productivity hack removes the burden of being a 5-hour non-stop workaholic and allows you to achieve measurable progress.
Similar to this is James Clear’s two-minute rule, which proposes that if a task takes you less than two minutes to accomplish, you should do it immediately. This way, you tackle the little tasks you’re constantly procrastinating on. Clear goes further to propose that when you desire to start a new project, start it but allocate only two minutes at a time to it. By doing this, you won’t procrastinate starting. He often says you will keep going further than your allotted 2 minutes.
- Understand your peak periods: You don’t need to do much at once, nor do you need to spend several hours in front of a screen before you’re certified productive. When you understand your peak periods and leverage them, you realize your energy is put to good use. Then, you can take the rest of your time to yourself. It would be best if you always affixed your most intense work demands/projects to your peak periods.
Some creatives find they are most alert when fresh after a night’s sleep, that is, early at dawn. Thus, within hours as early as 6 am to 10 am, they can achieve all required during the whole work day. Thanks to WFH and flexible work hours, you can plan deep work periods based on self-designed schedules. It would help if you determined whether you are a morning, afternoon, or nighttime person. This way, your productivity is on your terms, and you get to earn the trust of your superiors, who have no reason to micromanage you.
In addition, if you lead a team, poor management, improper communication, and micromanaging are bad for your team’s productivity. Such actions make team members wary of making even the most minor decisions without approval. Also, they get de-motivated and unproductive when they aren’t rewarded or recognized for a well-done job.
- Build systems: There are different systems you can create, which would ensure your productivity is not only increased but also inevitable. The Pomodoro technique is a system. Keeping your phone entirely out of reach during work hours is a system. Changing your environment or differentiating your work and where you rest is also a system. Automatically shutting off work-related things during your rest periods is a system. Creating and developing a second brain is also a system.
- Never forfeit rest: Burnout is not a badge of honour. You must stick to a healthy sleep routine. Get naps when you can. Take walks when you’ve been in a sitting position for a long time. Avoid extended screen time by observing the 20–20–20 rule. This rule is for you if you gaze at screens all day. Essentially, every 20 minutes spent using a screen, you should try to look away at something 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. This technique helps your vision and, as a result, your focus and attention span.
We hope you try these hacks and enjoy a more productive and healthy work balance. Have you got any questions? Please share them in the comments section below!
