Some of us have been fortunate to recently take a short breather. I don’t know about you but it has felt like the last twelve months suddenly concertinaed in on themselves and there was a real need to pause.
I am conscious as lock down eases we are moving into yet another phase of change and there is a drive to rush full pelt into re-openings. Many of us are now working in ways that are open ended, everything seems to be ongoing, and we expect more and more of ourselves and each other. I have a workshop I have been doing over the last six months and one of the slides says: ‘work is infinite!’ Stark though that seems it’s the reality of being always on, it does however also mean we can stop blaming ourselves for never quite reaching the end.
It means we have to confront and grapple with ‘productivity shame.’
Productivity shame is the act of setting utterly unrealistic goals or schedules for yourself and then beating yourself up when you fail to meet them. Jocelyn K Glei
We often assume that productivity means getting more things done each day. Wrong. Productivity is getting important things done consistently. James Clear
Some of the ways we can address this dilemma are:
- Change how we think about productivity: focus on what is meaningful
- Chunking: anyone who has done my Small Change® CPD will have heard this a hundred times! Break things into manageable chunks so you get a sense of progress
- Set up the right support and systems: look at what you have in place to support you, what works, and what gets in the way?
- Let go and disconnect: Take time out and give yourself a chance to step away from whatever is happening. You can’t focus on everything all of the time
Getting to grips with an inbox is hardly going to be a great motivator. Understanding and making progress on what is meaningful for you can help boost your emotions and your motivation.
Motivation does not come before action, action comes before motivation.
Shame is a very poor motivator!