Hey! I'd like to water down things a bit with a New Yolk Times post, where I express some food for thought. A special anime review will be coming your way very soon, but for now let's talk about something serious. So today marks the start of Holy Week (sort of), and that also means the start of summer vacation for the rest of us (unless you go to my University). And whenever vacation hits, a majority of the human population struggles with one thing: and that is productivity.
I realized, the older I get, the more of a big deal this word suddenly becomes. If you're not productive, it automatically means you're slowly becoming a bum for some reason. I know it doesn't immediately translate to that, but anxiety and our bitch of a conscience tells us otherwise. And it's become bothersome. In spite of this fear of being completely idle, our body is still somehow stronger than our inner will. Our inner selves want to do something but our physical selves are able to convince us that things happen at their own time and that we shouldn't take the initiative to do...well, anything. That's the struggle for the millenial generation, today.
So the question is, how do we stay productive? More importantly, is being productive even an important thing? First, let us list down the perks of being a productive person.
1.) You learn how to discipline yourself- This is a no-brainer. If you are able to train yourself to do certain things at specific periods of time, then you develop self-control. Personally, I think this is one trait we all need to learn while we are still growing up. There will be times when you need to recognize limitations and having self-control will guide you in that process. Right now, I'm trying to learn self-control. It's a hard thing to learn, but not impossible.
2.) You are able to set priorities- After sorting out the things you need to do, you are able to distinguish which things are more important. You learn to differentiate which one is for leisure and which one is for work, then you are able to decide what you must sacrifice and what you should really do.
3.) You don't become a lazy person- Let's face it. Being lazy is not actually a cool thing. Laziness is the reason why you don't get your passport on time, laziness is the reason why there is no order in your workplace, laziness is the reason why the results of your project aren't considered satisfactory. Laziness can deteriorate an entire world. Just imagine what would happen if your doctor is too lazy to cure you. Imagine the chaos.
4.) Your self-esteem boosts up- I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but productivity can increase the level of your skills, no matter what they are. Doesn't it make you feel good, when you are able to level up on something just because you spent time cultivating these skills through a to-do list?
So the perks are not so bad, right? What's the downside to being productive, though?
1.) There's a chance you can become a workaholic- If you embrace your job too much, then you might lose sight of what is important. There's a chance you would think that your main priority would be just simply work, work, work. It is important to have a balance in your life and depending too much on productivity might make you lose your way.
2.) It inflates your ego - If we are able to accomplish more things through productivity, we feel great about it. But if this continues, there's a chance that you tend to feel more than just a sense of achievement. You feel too good about yourself, to the point you can feel like you are better than everyone else. Believe me, it happens. Being too egotistic can be a greatest flaw, especially if you use it at the wrong situations. And with so much great things happening from the fruits of your labor, it's hard to tell when something could go wrong.
3.) You can get productive on the wrong things- Sometimes the idea of productivity can be unclear. For some it means devoting your energy on something, and that could be anything. You can spend your time on something that will give fruitful results or on something that are just meant to pass the time. There is a fine line between being productive and wasting your time.
For now, that's all I can think of. Now that we have seen what productivity is, how do we achieve it?
First, when you want to achieve something, don't go all the way. Achieving productivity can easily be related to working out.When you begin working out for the first time, usually you don't go for the extreme workouts right away. You start small by stretching out your limbs, first. But you don't raise the difficulty just yet. You either run for a few minutes or lift dumb bells that weigh a few tons first, you get used to it for a certain time, then you level up when you are ready. The same goes for productivity. All you have to do is start small. And by small, I mean really small. When you set up a list of things to do, make sure that you are able to do them first.
Don't create vague goals that look like this: read a book.
Specify it, according to how much of it you can do: read 10 pages of a book today.
And if you create more specific yet oh-so simple tasks that are similar to the previous, then I can guarantee you that you will be able to get some work done for the day. Remember, small building blocks can create something big in the end. Don't be ashamed to put something idle or leisure in that to-do list; if you think you deserve a break then take note of it and make sure you get that break.
Now I can guarantee you that I did not come up with this food for thought on my own. I'd like to thank Anna Akana for helping me realize these things. If you don't know who she is, Anna Akana is an actress, writer, director, YouTuber and a cat lady with her very own clothing line. Some of her videos on Youtube focus on productivity and leveling up your skills, and her tips are quite practical and useful. I recommend you to check them out, especially if you need a bit of inspiration on how to deal with your life. Above are a few videos of her that you can watch, and yes they have something to do with productivity. If you want more, simply click here. For now, that is it. Oh, and guess what? Writing a blog marks one of the things I had to do today. I was so inspired by the idea of productivity these days because I had so much to do lately. Hence, this post. So... Progress~ Till the next post.
No comments :
Post a Comment