8 reasons why millennials are low in productivity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Using the millennial generation as an example, let's look at 8 main reasons that prevent us from being productive and detrimental to our well-being.

According to the American Psychological Association, millennials suffer more than any other generation from constant stress and their own inability to cope with it. Each of us at least once spent the whole night without closing his eyes just because he could not get rid of obsessive and unpleasant thoughts.

Millennials traditionally include people who were born in the late 80s - early 90s. This generation is also called Generation Y and Generation YAYA. People born at that time are closely associated with digital technologies from childhood, it is extremely important for them to find a way to declare themselves and win universal love and approval. Representatives of this generation quickly absorb new knowledge and are always open to something new.

Millennials are far more anxious than older people. For example, according to the American Psychological Association, 12% of Generation Y have an anxiety disorder, nearly double the rate of the Baby Boomer generation.

In addition, the Association of American Medical Colleges conducted among eligible students and found that 61% of them were constantly exposed to unreasonable anxiety.

Anxiety not only negatively affects our well-being, but it also negatively affects our productivity. The Association of American Colleges of Medicine estimates that the majority of students have problems with academic performance due to increased levels of stress and nervous tension.

The reasons for concern can be associated with fierce competition or student loans, as well as with some psychological reasons: high expectations from life, a variety of choices and unreasonable ambitions.

Among other things, even our daily and habitual behavior can be a cause for anxiety. Below are 8 reasons that can provoke stress and negatively affect our potential.

1. Poor sleep culture

The most common cause of anxiety and anxiety is considered to be poor sleep. The University of California at Berkeley confirmed that prolonged sleep deprivation activates the brain regions responsible for managing fear and anxiety. Frequent causes of lack of sleep are also: lack of a strict regimen (we constantly go to bed at different times), higher priority for other activities (I’d better work more and sleep less), use phones and laptops right before bed.

How to fix the situation. Try to develop healthy habits that will signal you to go to sleep. For example, put all gadgets aside at least half an hour before bedtime, keep an ordinary magazine near your bed to read. Better yet, start a diary so that before going to bed, write down in it all those thoughts that haunted you during the day.

2. Skipping meals

Food is responsible not only for regulating metabolism and maintaining the necessary insulin levels, but also for our mental stability. Waiting too long or not eating at all can lead to fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which in turn can cause discomfort such as dizziness, anxiety, confusion, and difficulty expressing thoughts. By the way, dehydration has similar side effects. Since food and water are our biological needs, it is a natural response to hunger and thirst to be anxious when they are not available.

How to fix the situation. Eat regularly. Store jars of granola or nuts in an easily accessible place. Always carry a bottle of water with you to sip from when thirsty. Try to drink a glass of water immediately after waking up and before bed.

3. Overdose of coffee

Coffee gives us a boost of energy, improves tone and helps us perform well short-term tasks. However, the habit of drinking liters of coffee makes people nervous, irritable and overly agitated, especially when they are already prone to anxiety. Caffeine sensitivity is exacerbated in people with panic disorders and social phobias. In addition, caffeine is considered a powerful diuretic, which can lead to dehydration, which, as we have found out earlier, provokes anxiety.

How to fix the situation. Try to limit your coffee intake to one cup a day, or switch to a caffeine-free counterpart or black tea. If, after a week of such restrictions, you begin to feel more relaxed, then try to completely abandon the use of this drink.

4. Sedentary lifestyle

Recently, published in the health journal BMC Public Health, confirmed that a sedentary lifestyle triggers the onset of anxiety symptoms.

How to fix the situation. Do not think that if you work sitting all day, then you are doomed. Take breaks every 90 minutes and be sure to warm up. Make up for your sedentary time with regular exercise or sports. This will cut the risk of depression in half.

5. Dependence on gadgets

Scientists from Baylor University in the United States (Baylor University) empirically found that students devote about nine hours a day to their smartphones. Of course, there is no reason to argue that modern gadgets greatly simplify our life, but too good what is happening on the screen provokes our anxiety. What are some social networks and instant messengers.

How to fix the situation. The next time you have a minute to spare, don't reach for your phone right away. Try leaving it away from you: in your bag or, if it's really hard, in your pocket. Stop using your smartphone as a way to relieve boredom, and only use it as needed.

6. Irregular working hours

Representatives of the YAYA generation become very restless and irritated when they are forced to work strictly according to the clock. They do not really recognize the standardized working hours and believe that productivity should be measured not by the number of hours spent in the office, but by the quality of the work performed. However, there are often situations when millennials literally bring themselves to exhaustion, working for hours on end.

How to fix the situation. Don't let ambition and the desire to make a good impression harm your mental health and personal life. Limit your working hours.

7. TV and serial addiction

You can think as much as you like that lying on the couch and watching movies will somehow help you calm down and relax, but this is not at all the case. Participants who spent about two hours in front of a TV screen showed far more signs of anxiety than those who did not. The results of the experiment revealed an interesting pattern: people prone to depression are much more likely to spend time in front of a computer or TV screen. Yes, such a pastime gives us the illusion of relaxation, but this is not for long.

How to fix the situation. Do whatever you want when you have a free minute, but do not look at the monitor. Take a walk, sit in your room and stare at the wall, spend time with friends, call your mom, cook dinner, assemble a construction set … But you never know what else!

8. Communication with annoying people

Are you familiar with the situation when everyone absolutely needs something from you? For some reason, an annoying neighbor wants to share his problems with you, colleagues at work dump strange tasks on you, even friends - and they annoy. What a calmness here! Sheer turmoil.

How to fix the situation. Whenever possible, communicate only with those people who give you positive emotions. Immediately after you talk to someone, think about whether you feel good or not. Identify pleasant and unpleasant people for yourself. Once you've done this, it will be much easier to control your emotions.

If irritability and anxiety do not leave you even after you have tried to get rid of all of the above bad habits, then perhaps this is a signal of more serious problems: heart disease, migraines, chronic breathing disorders and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, be more attentive to your health.

Remember that chronic anxiety can be prevented and productivity skills can be learned with the effort and a little work on your daily habits. It's never too late to get better.