Productivity Your Way

Productivity isn’t a race. It isn’t doing certain steps in a certain fashion on someone else’s timeline. It isn’t about spending every moment of your day being constantly busy and doing doing doing.

Productivity is about doing the things you need to do but also the things you want to do. It is about a sense of accomplishment at the level you are comfortable with. It is about getting where you are going at your own damn pace.

Of course, there are exceptions. If you are launching a business, there are certain legal steps that need to be done in a certain order such as name registration and tax prep. If you are writing about a certain event, it will be time-sensitive. If you have a regular ol’ job with a boss there will be expectations of what you get done during the day or on your shift.

The productivity I am referring to isn’t to do with concrete deadlines or the daily closing list at the shop you work you at. It is about reaching the goals you want for yourself. Opening your own business, writing a book, traveling, moving, learning a new skill, whatever.

If all you did yesterday was go for a walk or binge watch a tv show you have been excited about for a while but haven’t had the chance to see, who the fuck is anybody else in the world to tell you that you didn’t accomplish anything? To say that you weren’t productive? All I did yesterday was binge Netflix and Hulu and during that time I quietly brainstormed in my subconscious. The end result? Ideas for several stories, a new poem, some notes on the online shop I am gearing up to open, a text conversation with a friend I don’t get to see very often, time spent with my kid, and an updated to-do list for this weekend (it isn’t long).

That seems pretty damn productive to me, but productive by my standards. Now I have ideas to work on and turn into more concrete things moving forward. I am writing this, for instance. I have also already done research on the first steps I need to take for that online retail shop I’m working on, looked up some classes that will help me in the coming months, had a really yummy healthy breakfast, helped my kiddo with some of her online learning (pandemic, what can ya do), took the trash to the curb, fed the cat, and wrote in my journal...and it’s only 9:30 in the morning. And by noon I will be over this shit and just probably watch a movie or something.

Just because your productivity doesn’t look like somebody else’s doesn’t mean it doesn’t count or that it isn’t valid and real. I suffer from depression and have some issues with alcohol so there are days when my biggest accomplishment is that all the living things in the house are still alive. I also have days when I am handling things well and I am like a crazed speeding locomotive of to-do list check-marks. And no one gets to tell me I’m doing it wrong. EVER!

*Disclaimer - if you are suffering from a mental or physical issue such as depression, addiction, or a degenerative disease this is not meant to be an excuse for not seeking treatment or help in some way from family, friends, or professionals. Because those things are not a lack of productivity, they are bigger than that.