How to deal with productivity guilt
Filed under: Intentional productivity
We’ve all been there.
Some days you have incredible energy and momentum, other days it feels like you are barely getting through the items on your list. And here comes the unwanted productivity guilt—that nagging feeling that you should be doing more. Often it leaves you feeling deflated which causes the whole situation to suck even more.
When you question yourself for not being productive or disciplined enough to cross that task off your list, this creates a negative compound effect when left unchecked. I know I’ve experienced first-hand what it’s like to spend the balance of my evenings and weekends worrying about how little progress I’ve made and the pile of work that keeps growing. This blocks us from being present and creative thanks to the guilt of how the day went and stress of having to catch up the next day.
When this happens, here are two prompts and one system to bring a little more ease to your days.
Challenge the idea that your worth is defined by how busy or productive you are.
Let that sink in. Life is an ongoing process of growth, not a list of your accomplishments and what you’ve completed. When you’ve had an off day, it doesn’t change a thing about your worth. We’re so much more than our to do lists. Remind yourself that on the days you can’t seem to find the motivation, you can be more forgiving with yourself and zoom out to see that overall the steps you’ve taken add up, and you are growing and making progress. Reflect on the tiniest wins you’ve had and celebrate them. This always feels 100X better than holding onto guilt for the things you haven’t completed.
While hustle culture encourages us to smash our goals and to quickly scale our businesses, I’m finding more and more that I want a completely different path. Lately I’ve been focused on going at my own pace, learning from the journey and focusing on how I can lift others up.Check in with yourself and find out what you need most right now.
We’re spending more hours in front of a screen these days which makes it so important to allow time to decompress and take breaks. Are you tackling this task while you’re running on empty? When’s the last time you drank water, got up from your desk or moved your body?
Walking away from what you’re doing might seem counterproductive, but coming back to it after you’ve had some time to refill your cup can make all the difference.Unload your stresses using a brain dump.
Allowing your worries, thoughts and random tasks to collect in your mind not only stresses you out, but it also takes up precious real estate in your mind and prevents you from doing your most creative work. This seems harmless at first, but it can escalate to the point where your worries feel worse than they actually are.
Create a system where you brain dump any ideas or to do’s in a dedicated notebook or task management tool. You can come back to it later, but the most important thing is that it’s written down and no longer taking up space rent-free in your head.
My favourite tool is a good ol’ checklist, but I also love using Airtable for organizing both my personal life and business. There’s something so satisfying about being able to create categorized task views and to look back at it all one day!
I hope that this lightens your load and helps you tackle your week one guilt-free day at a time. Let me know what has worked for you on the days you’re not feeling it!
Cheering you on,
KG
