Productivity is not just about managing time, but also energy. Building and restoring energy with activities like sleep, walks, and socializing can increase productivity. Self-compassion can also increase endurance and mental stamina and involves being kind to yourself and being mindful.
Energy, not time: Reframing productivity
We often think of productivity as time management, but it’s important to also consider energy management.
Doing things that protect, build, restore and save energy is productive, such as sleep, walks, and socializing.
Reframing productivity is about understanding that the things you do to protect, build, restore, or save your energy are productive activities. It’s not about task completion and time spent, but about energy management. It can be hard to face the reality of needing more energy to sustain what has already been built, but ultimately it’s necessary for success. Understanding when something is truly sustainable and when it is not is key to achieving success and avoiding burnout.
Do stuff that keeps you going
Katherine Morgan Schafler, a psychotherapist and author of The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control, states that productivity should include energy management and doing things that keep you going, like sleeping, taking walks, and meeting people.
To increase one’s sense of endurance and stamina, she suggests two tools: self-compassion and reframing your idea of productivity.
Self-compassion is an important tool to increase endurance and mental stamina, and involves three steps: common humanity, self-kindness, and mindfulness.
Self-compassion involves understanding that whatever problem you’re facing is not uncommon and that you are not alone, as well as making decisions from a place of openness and flexibility.
Kindness and being nice
It is important to acknowledge the pain one is feeling and attending to it from a place of connection and kindness.
The author distinguishes kindness from being nice by saying that kindness seeks to connect first, while solutions come second. Additionally, she talks about how feeling isolated can make a seemingly easy task much harder, and how acknowledging one is not alone can help create a sense of connection and support.
