Life lessons: Dark secrets of productivity apps

Photo by Sebastian Pandelache on Unsplash

Well, you read it correct. It’s my first hand impression of productivity apps. Not a clickbait. You might not share the same opinion as me but nothing wrong in getting another perspective of productivity apps.

We all use productivity/focus apps. Day in and Day out. Filled with tasks. Blocking notifications, block all those sites which are meant to distract you. What not, in the name of productivity, you want to squeeze every second to focus on work. Do the most in less time as if you don’t have time tomorrow.

Nothing wrong with the mindset of achieving more in less time. Focusing on work to achieve utmost quality. But, what for? At what cost? Is your effort justified? How?

The science behind productivity apps

The productivity apps employs different psychological principles and different hormonal reactions to make you focused for long time. Let’s not get into details, but following are the main hormones which makes you engaged for long time

1. Dopamine
2. Serotonin
3. Endorphins
4. Oxytocin

So, what’s about these hormones. Google and find out. In short, these hormones make you feel satisfied, happy and belonged to a group.
If you observe any productivity app, whatever they are trying to make you achieve, either to finish some work, make you form some habit or teach /do you so time management, everything thing is centered around set of tasks that you define. The science is simple here, when you tick on task those hormones released. A sense of achievement makes you feel happy. In a group/team setting, makes you feel proud. That’s it. It’s a simple principle. Productivity apps make you do more work or addicted to work by releasing those hormones in smaller quantities whenever each task achieved.

What’s wrong with task lists?

No, there is nothing wrong with task lists and celebrating small achievements. The whole problem is with how these productivity apps marketed with only focus on professional work without giving importance to personal life.

Let’s make a checklist and see how many of your answers are yes

1. Have you ever made a task to relax?
2. Is your task list really fits into 8 hours time frame?
3. Is your task list flexible enough to fit your personal work?
4. Is your task list not updated in a day without making you extend?
5. Have you not forced to look into others work just because you are organised?

In my personal experience, most of the time answers are no.

Who took the control of your life?

If you answered no to some or all of the questions, that’s quite common. But it is all about what you are doing about it. At least have you felt bad about it or just accepted the fact that it is life. If yes, that is what wrong with the use of productivity apps. More precisely, that is the wrong with the way you are using the productivity apps.

There is nothing wrong with productivity apps but the way you are using them. Productivity app is just making you to addicted to the smaller achievements/tasks. It is your fault to not to have balanced list of tasks that gives importance to your mental health

Here the apps doing their job of making you addicted to the work where as the marketing promoting to use these apps in professional life. The very same apps can be used to plan your mental health which you are not doing. It is time to highlight the fact that productivity apps are there to plan the life but not the professional work.

It’s time to take control of life and redirect the energies to living life and work being an assistant to support it but not vise versa.

How to use productivity apps?

Nothing wrong with planning the work but fitting that into 9 to 5 is not that easy. So, approach towards work has to change. With the remote work being normal, one has to plan the work and personal life together rather than separating them.

Don’t be afraid/shy away from planning personal work during your office hours. You can not be creative between 9 to 5. If your work allows, be confident and open to spend some time on life during the day and spending some time in night on office work if needed.

It is much relaxing to do the work while living life rather than living life after the work.

At last, using productivity apps might not be an issue but using them to plan the professional work only is the issue. Unless you take control of your life and plan the work when you get the time from your life, you are a victim of the productivity apps trap to promote professional work as productivity measure.