Are You Suffering From Productivity Anxiety?
One of the great dramas of modern life: productivity and anxiety go hand in hand.
Productivity anxiety is a real thing.
If you’re not experiencing it right now, just wait until the next time you feel like you haven’t done anything productive at all and the day has come to an end.
We can’t help but think about what we should have done instead of what we actually accomplished — and that’s when productivity anxiety sets in.
But how do we know if we are suffering from this condition? And most importantly, how do we deal with it?
In this post, I’m going to give you some tips on both fronts!
How To Know if You Suffer From Productivity Anxiety
Productivity anxiety is a condition when you feel like you didn’t get enough done in your day.
You go to bed at night with the feeling that nothing was completed and wake up thinking about all of those tasks that shouldn’t have been left out.
How do we know if we are suffering from productivity anxiety? Here’s how:
You Wake Up Thinking About Work
That’s the first and most obvious sign that you might be anxious.
Your daily to-dos usually are the first thing that shows up in your mind when you wake up.
Frequently, you tend to rush on executing tasks, hoping to have a productive day (which is not very effective). However, once again — this only makes things worse!
You’re (Almost) Never Satisfied With You Daily Performance
You go to bed with the sensation that you didn’t get enough done.
You wake up and nothing has changed in this regard, either!
It’s like your mind is telling you: “Just wait until tomorrow — then we’ll see how productive I will be”.
This way of thinking goes on for a while (a very long time!), but there are some things that can stop it once and for all.
The thing is: being productive doesn’t have to mean getting a lot accomplished every day.
That’s because you fail to accept your limitations.
If they don’t come as naturally to us as breathing or sleeping does, our limitations should not be an excuse for feeling anxious about productivity.
What matters most is what we do within our limits and how we can make progress even when it doesn’t feel like it.
You Feel Guilty for Taking Time To Rest
We all need time to rest, but it’s hard to switch off from work when we feel like we’re not being productive.
This is often the case for people who suffer from productivity anxiety. We think that if we’re not working, then we’re doing something wrong.
But that’s not the right way to do things!
Productivity should come in waves, and there’s nothing wrong with taking a break in between them.
You Can’t Switch Off From Work Mindset
The problem of staying productive doesn’t just affect people who work for themselves.
Even if you have a job and don’t feel anxious about productivity, it’s still important to know how to limit your working hours so that they correspond with reality.
For example, I used to be in the same situation before deciding not to take on more projects than my available time allows me — otherwise, I would burn out eventually.
You Compare Yourself With Others Too Much
“Why can’t I be as productive as he/she is?”
“How could he get so much done in such a short period of time!?”
If you find yourself constantly comparing your productivity to that of other people, then there’s a good chance you suffer from productivity anxiety.
What To Do To Avoid Productivity Anxiety
Now that we know how to identify productivity anxiety, it’s time to talk about what we can do to avoid it.
There are a few things that come into mind:
Know Your Limits
We all have limits. And it’s a good thing!
It means we’re human and not robots who can get things done 24/24, 365 days a year.
Accepting our limitations helps us see reality for what it is — which makes the next steps clearer to achieve.
Accept Your Constraints
As I’ve said before, productivity comes in waves.
Sometimes you’ll feel like a genius capable of doing everything with ease — and that’s great!
But other times (and they will come), things won’t go as planned and you might find yourself struggling to get through your daily tasks. That is completely normal!
Do Progressive Upgrades
This is a great way to get over your productivity anxiety!
The idea behind doing progressive upgrades is that you break down the task that you need to do into smaller, more manageable pieces.
This will help ease the pressure off of yourself, as well as give you a sense of accomplishment once each step is completed.
The most important thing? Don’t forget to take breaks in between!
Just because you’re taking things slow doesn’t mean you shouldn’t rest at all — on the contrary, resting is crucial for avoiding burnout.
Measure Everything
Lastly, it might be a good idea to start measuring your productivity so you have something to compare it with.
This could be anything from time tracking to using a specific app to help you stay on top of things.
Productivity anxiety can be debilitating and prevent us from achieving our goals.
However, by knowing how to identify it and taking the necessary steps to avoid it, we can make progress in our work — even if it doesn’t feel like it at first. Remember: Rome wasn’t built in a day!
And neither was your desired level of productivity. Give yourself some time, do progressive upgrades, and measure everything; soon enough you’ll see results!
