Why being Productive is Important | Tough | Inevitable- by Sonal Jain

Productivity or being productive is a major game-changing part of life. We all go through various phases in life, be it personal or professional. Productivity is one such attribute that goes through major downfall or rises high up without you even realizing it. Your productivity can be affected due to many unforeseen reasons and one who analyses it and starts working towards improving it well on time comes out as a winner.

Why do we feel un-productivity?

1. Your energy is low-

The importance of good energy should always be supreme in your life. Energy is not always about strength in your body. It can be mental energy, a positive environment, and good thoughts. When you are low on energy, working or doing anything feels like a task. People who analyze what is mentally draining them will be able to increase their productivity accordingly. 

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2. Directionless or no guidance-

While writing this I realize how essential it is to have proper directions as to where do you stand right now and where you are planning to go. Being directionless de-motivates you, makes you doubt your talent, and this is not good for life or career. Not many people come out successfully after being directionless. Take guidance from people around you who are elder, experienced or even professional help can work here.

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3. Overwhelmed with various things-

No, you do not have superpowers. Prioritizing things in life is very important as it can calm you down from getting overwhelmed. When you are over-burdened or you yourself over-burden stuff, it can bring down your productivity. It gets difficult to focus on one thing because you are constantly thinking you have 10 more things to do.  

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4. Taking adequate breaks-

For this, I have two perspectives to share. Taking adequate breaks is as important as any of the above points. Our brains and the body need rest after a particular point because it loses focus, energy, and dedication to work if over-burdened and that can lead to disinterest in working.

But then there are people who just let go with no measure. If you need an hour’s break, sure take it. But do not stretch it to 5 hours unnecessarily. This automatically brings your productivity down because time is everything. Once you start procrastinating, you will not be able to finish the work on time. So, measure your breaks but take them adequately.

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5. Communication is the key-

Productivity at work or in life can be stable only when you know how to communicate well. Miscommunication can lead to a waste of time, energy, and amount of work for you and another person as well. Learn proper email etiquette at work so that the communication is correct and complete, and the other person can start without re-confirming.

In normal routines as well, learn to give complete information concisely so that the work is done in one go and does not require special attention. 

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Signs that you are feeling un-productive- 

1.   Procrastination-

When procrastination becomes a habit; productivity also is affected. I have written a detailed blog on Procrastination, and I feel it is one such a habit I will never in my life want.

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2. Setting countless goals/no goals at all-

Too much of anything is also harmful and nothing at all is equally harmful. So, the key to this is, set small goals, work to achieve them, celebrate the win, and then go ahead. This is a very sane practice one can put so that working becomes fun and that will increase your productivity.

Also, when you do not set any goal, you will not get adequate direction for the same. But however short term the goal is, it is important to have a goal.

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3. “Someone else can do it” –

Leaving stuff for other people will not only make you lose opportunities but will make you feel unproductive for the longest time. The worked assigned to you or the work you have assigned yourself must be done by you so that you don’t lose your productivity, If it is time-constraint make sure you don’t procrastinate it.

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4. Mentally drained-

Mental drains or breakdowns happen very often and there are plenty of reasons for the same. They could be because of personal life, the environment around you, friend circle, long working hours, fewer outcomes, low rewards and so much more. Your emotions and actions both do not match. You do not feel like waking up and doing the work. But then that is when you need to work hard on yourself.

First, remind yourself why you are here and where you must reach. If the work doesn’t please you anymore, try to bring a change in the routine, or changing your work area or style can help. Take a break and time off from work and recharge yourself with positive energy and get started again.

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Productivity’s major role in my life-

I am someone who likes to keep myself busy doing something or the other. I do not like to sit idle, basically waste the time that I have in my hands. If knowingly I ever waste work time, I feel guilty about the same the next minute. This does not mean I don’t take a break between work. I have set rules for myself that includes my ME TIME once a day where I work at all. I sip my cup of tea and sit on the balcony in peace. This is how a balance is created.

I strongly feel that since we are in the age of learning, since we do not have many responsibilities as of it, these are our highly productive years. Apart from taking time to enjoy life, never forget that these years will never come back. Living in the age of technology, we have so much to learn and share.

During my college days, I lived those 3 years on my toes. From trying new things, to spending time with friends I have done it all. I worked in college societies but then also made time to go out with friends to sip a hot cup of tea outside and have a relaxed time there. These 3 years were my highly-productivity years I feel. 

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The downfall of my productivity-

The major downfall of my productivity came when after college in the next year I started taking internships. I was fresh out of college wanting to explore everything I could. This made me take some impulsive decisions of taking 3-4 internships at once. I only thought that since I am getting opportunities, I need to grab them. But I forgot that I would need to put equally hard work into all of them. Initially, after trying many times, later I could see it as a big fail. 

Got me a new perspective-

At that point, I saw myself as a learner and took all the opportunities my way, and was not selective. Later I realized I cannot do everything at once. I need to prioritize; I need to say NO to a few things. This affected my productivity, my ME TIME, my sleep, and my eating patterns too. It was more harm than good. This was a game-changer and time tuner. I learnt how to manage things, and learnt to take time off. 

In lieu of times like today, we all are trying hard to find strength and motivation to work harder. By writing this blog I also recall that I was being upset about my low productivity. The situation is tough, but you are tougher. Try a little more and surely you will be able to find your pace.

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Thank you for reading!