Coping with Productivity Guilt

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

Forget about the ideal and choose the really important goals.

“You need to go in for sports four times a week. Not just jogging, but intense exercise. And arrange short-term fasting. And drink two liters of water a day. And don't forget to meditate.

If you don't get up at four in the morning, then you are missing out on the most productive time of the day. Have you watched TV? It would be better to spend this time reading. And read not just fiction books, but the classic works of Seneca and Marcus Aurelius."

Advice like this makes you feel like you're not productive, and guilt comes along with it. It constantly whispers that more needs to be done. And if you don't do everything, then you are a lazy person who will never achieve your goals.

This is a side effect of helpful tips articles. For some, the recommendations will help solve the problem, but for others they will seem too difficult and cause guilt.

1. Accept the fact that you will never be perfect

This is fine. Nobody is perfect. In my thirteen years of blogging, I have written over 1,200 articles and almost all of them recommend something. It is almost impossible for one person to constantly follow all of these tips at the same time. My habits are changing. Old ideas, which I wrote about earlier, are replaced by new ones. Not always because they are better. It's just that I (like you) change all the time.

So the first step is to understand that the ideal is unattainable. The second is that you shouldn't even wish for it.

2. Don't Apply All Tips At The Same Time

Keep in mind that the tips in the articles are a destination, not a destination. That is, by moving from your current point in this direction, you are likely to receive some benefit. But don't go to extremes trying to follow all the recommendations at once.

Take, for example, the tips at the beginning of this article. Each one is good individually. But if you try to apply them all at the same time, you will not have time and energy for other things.

And it also happens that the achievement of the ideal can actually do more harm than good. For example, spending less time on social media and messengers is a sane idea. But without contacting anyone at all, you may become more productive, but you will definitely get a number of problems in social life.

3. Don't look back at others

The main source of guilt is the gap between how we see ourselves and how we want to be. Start moving forward from the point where you are now, and not from the ideal idea of yourself. And consider your real strengths and weaknesses.

Yes, it would be great if we were perfect creatures with an endless supply of self-discipline, time, resources and intelligence. But this is not the case. They all have drawbacks. And we are all just trying to improve our situation a little.

Don't get hung up on finding the perfect solution. Think about how to act a little differently to get a slightly better result next time.

4. Move towards your goal gradually

If you've been feeling a lot of guilt lately about your productivity, try the following:

• Choose one or more goals to strive for. Remind yourself that it's okay not to tackle everything at once.
• Don't compare yourself to others. Those you admire also have flaws. You just don't see them. Work on yourself and don't blame yourself for not meeting other people's standards.
• Separate critical advice from advice that you just need to know. Most fall into the second category: they help, but very little. Focus on what is most important to achieving your goals.

And stop telling yourself that guilt is good. Yes, it is motivating, but it has many side effects. The constant feeling that you are not doing enough is not a state to strive for. It is best to move forward slowly and patiently - this way you will achieve results with less stress.