10 Realizations About Productivity That Will Help You to Identify the Myths and Save You Some Time

In the last decade or so, 'productivity' has been one of the trendiest things in our lives, especially in the professional work-field. Because of the busyness in our life, we are striving for hacks that can improve our daily motions.

Productivity gurus and life-hack books are popping up, seminars and coaching sessions are being sold like hotcakes (sorry, hotcakes are not that popular anymore because of the sugar intakes, right!). And, the pandemic time has increased the craziness to an unprecedented level, taking off with live sessions and webinars.

I'm a big fan of productivity, and often I try out and experiment with the popular hacks to improve the functionality, both in my workplace and my personal space. I'm not saying that the productivity hacks and coaching are worthless. But, after trying out too many hacks and tips for an extended period, I came across the following realizations that might interest you.

Take a look into the ten critical learnings you should consider before going for any productivity hack or coaching.

1. All productivity tips might be lucrative to you, but most of those are not suitable for you.

This one is obvious, right!

Should you try every trick to find out what's best for you? Not really.

You need to identify certain things before embedding a technique into your life.?

• What's your priority/goal?
• What's your timeline to achieve it?
• How many times can you try before giving up?

Once those are clear in your mind, then go for experimenting. Because now you know exactly when you want to attain your goal, and how many times you can permit failure before you can succeed??

Some productivity hacks are not for you when you first glance at them. So please don't throw it out immediately, but carefully evaluate it. Ask questions like:

• Is it going to transform the way I want it to be?
• What's the commitment level?
• What will it cost (not only money-wise but also in other parts of our life)?

Then proceed, if you want.

Please remember that every person has unique personality traits. Therefore, not every productivity practice will suit you.

2. Once you find the productivity hack, stick to it, practice it for an extended period, and don't lose the rhythm.

There are several things to consider:

• Without an extended time, you will not be able to judge whether the technique is good for you or not.
• What's the positive impact of the trait?
• What's the negative implication (if any) of the trait? Does it outbalance the positives?
• If you take a break from your selected pattern (discipline), it is always challenging to get back to it, at least for the first leg of the practice.

Please give it time to have the total exposure.?

However, move on if it doesn't work after the entire exposure. Please don't stick to it; instead, learn to leave it.

3. An Accountability group might not work for you.

It worked for me.?

I have participated in two LinkedIn 30 days sprints created by Tom Kuegler with other cohort members, and those two sprints were fantastic. It helped me practice writing every day for those 30 days and pushed me to interact with people more. In addition, the fellow cohort members were genuinely supportive, and their stories and content have embedded some incredible learning.

Having said that, it might or might not work for you.

As an accountability group helps push each other to attain a certain goal/s, the pressure can be intense and cause mental stress. It can also create anxiety and provide a sense of not fulfilling your part. In addition, for many, the social media presence on a higher frequency creates more stress.

So, if you want to get out of your comfort zone, try the accountability group for a short time. Then, if it works, go for a more extended period; if it doesn't, leave it and move on.

4. Multitasking might improve your frequency and interactions at work. But it might/would compromise the quality, especially the important ones.

I'm a multi-tasker, but for short, unimportant tasks. However, I always take time and proceed accordingly to give due diligence for critical jobs.

Of course, multitasking will improve the number of activities you can perform in a day. But, it breaks the flow, causes distractions, and the lag time compensates in the quality part.

Frequent jumps from one task to another wastes time. And, the stress to complete the task before moving on to another deliverable can exhaust you big time.

5. 'Hardest task first' mentality to start your day can ruin your start.

Hardest doesn't mean the most important.

However, hardest means a time-killer and an exhaust-booster kick. Starting your day with the energy-drainer will not do good for you and might dampen the mood for the rest of the day.

6. Does anyone struggle with The early morning walk-up hack?

I wouldn't say I liked getting up early.

However, I'm getting used to it, and I love it these days.

But, it is not for everyone.

For being a productive person, you do not have to get up early when the owl is still singing and the moon is still showering its silver light (contributed by the sun in the background).

You might also feel more energy drainage throughout the day; you might feel sleepy. And those can have diminishing returns for you.

7. Without finding the root cause of your 'excessive dependency on digital connectivity, digital detoxing will not work.

We all heard about the term 'digital detoxing' (to take a break from electronic media or social media). And, because of its life-draining, eye-catching tiredness bearing effect in our lives, many of us are determined to go for the detoxing.

However, without finding the root cause of the addiction, it will not work. Going full-on blow to reduce the digital device dependency might work in the initial days. Still, you will eventually return to the original state if you can't solve the issue.

Is it because you don't have other entertainment options available? If those are available, why are you not grabbing them? What is the immediate unnecessary digital dependency you can drop off?

You have to ask and answer these questions to find the cause and proceed accordingly.

8. Oh, the Pomodoro technique!

For many, breaking down a task into multiple chunks and taking a gap/break in between might work!

And, it might not work for others!

The transition from 'task to gap to task' wastes time. It takes time to get into the flow. It also creates a sense of urgency, which might not be great if the task is not urgent (can cause you stress). It can cause distractions. Also, think about the number of tasks/jobs you do in a day, and now do the Pomodoro for each one; it's a time-consuming exercise itself.

Please don't push yourself into something (or don't extend it) after identifying that the Pomodoro technique is not working for you. Something greater is waiting for you.

9. The perfect workspace settings.

It is great to have a clutter-free space where you can work. It's less distracting and makes you more focused on your task.

But, even if it isn't, don't just hang onto the feeling of perfect work-setting! Even in a clutter-full environment, you can achieve so much more! It's the same as life. We all wish our lives to be clutterless, yet, it isn't. But, that doesn't stop us from getting going; hence it shouldn't in your work setting.

You can do it.

10. Don't criticize yourself harshly.

I do that often.

Even if I try my best, I put in additional stress if the productivity hacks don't work out. So I say to myself that it might be my fault, or there might be something extra I could do!

Of course, I could, but that desired effort will not be seen in my next attempt if I pull myself down.

If you are not your greatest supporter, no one will support you. So, even having the failures, you always have to praise yourself, to raise.

?? You are showing up.?

?? You are doing great.?

?? And, you will do better in the coming days.

+ Two additional realizations

??? Seeking a solution is excellent, but you will not find the best solution every time. So please don't beat yourself to it.

??? Connect with people. You will find better productivity hacks and life lessons than those written in the books or uttered in the webinars.

It might be a cliche topic, but productivity is vital in our lives. It is up to you to determine the level of productivity you require and how to attain it.

Always remember,

The power is yours.

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