We are constantly bombarded by articles online on how to increase our productivity. It’s no wonder that we’re often left feeling guilty when we aren’t making use of every minute of the day. I feel like I’m wasting time if I’m not doing something productive like working on the blog or even cleaning the house.
Wasting Time
I often feel that if I’m not filling my day with productive tasks then I’m being lazy. If I have writer’s block or am struggling creatively to come up with new ideas I feel bad about myself. It doesn’t even matter if it’s the weekend. I hate feeling like I’m not going anything to achieve my goals.
Stop comparing
It’s easy to compare yourself to others, especially when you see them achieving the kind of success you’d like. In highly competitive industries you can feel need to be making the most of every second. The harder you work the more likely you will get where you want to be. However, if you’re working a ridiculous amount of hours every day then you aren’t going to get the most out of yourself.
Increase productivity
By ‘wasting time’ you can actually increase your productivity. I have started going running in the middle of the day about three times a week. I really wanted to start getting back into running but wasn’t keen on it disrupting working hours. The other option would be to go after work but where I run, running in the dark probably wouldn’t be my smartest idea.
Since I’ve started setting aside time to go either late morning or early afternoon I have felt my productivity levels increase. As that time is scheduled out it creates a sense of urgency to get important tasks done before I go. I also find that it helps clear my mind which in turn makes ideas come to me more easily.
Stop feeling guilty
I definitely need to stop feeling guilty if I’m not doing anything. Personally I need to get better at switching off. Even if I’m sat having a cup of tea you can pretty much guarantee I will be checking my emails on my phone at the same time. Recently I’ve become really run down and that’s made me less creative. I’m feeling permanently exhausted and I’m struggling to focus on anything. We shouldn’t feel guilty about taking the time to treat ourselves well.
I am currently writing this post on a Saturday morning because I felt so rough yesterday that I didn’t really get any work done. If I worked a regular 9-5 job and had a day off sick, my boss wouldn’t make me go in at the weekend to make up the time. With this in mind I’m going to give myself the rest of the day off. No checking my emails, no working on my to do list. Instead you will find me doing yoga and baking banana bread.