Having a Productivity Block?

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. — Nelson Mandela

Life is all about ebbs and flows. One day you wake up to a great healthy start. All is wonderful and life seems bright. The next day, it’s like a tornado hit your home and your life isn’t what it used to be.

The question on your mind is: Why do I feel this way? Where am I that I used to be yesterday?

A bummer… it’s not the day you were looking forward to.

We’ve all been there.

But, does it mean you should give up? Life goes on after all and we must do everything we can to pull ourselves together.

The question is, what do you do when you’re having a bad day?

If today is not your day to ride the waves of productivity, don’t intentionally force yourself to accomplish the things you had set out to do. Doing so would be like forcing yourself to finish the race when you’re out of steam. You can’t operate a battery with no juice, can you?

While you’re having a bad day, there isn’t much you can do, but there is something you can do — and that is self-reflection.

Reflection is powerful. By reflecting you can learn more about yourself, which can set the stage for self-improvement.

What happened today that you couldn’t get your day started right? Maybe it’s a lack of organization, maybe it’s your physical or mental preparedness. Or maybe you’re a parent like me and you’re so overwhelmed with life that getting everything done each day on time seems like a never-ending struggle.

For example, if this morning you woke up 30 minutes later than you were supposed to and are behind on tasks, use it as a learning opportunity to do better next time. Or maybe you opened up the fridge and realized you’re missing ingredients for breakfast because you were too tired to do shopping yesterday.

As a parent, I’ve had to juggle my parenting responsibilities with my other work. I’ve struggled, I’ve panicked, I’ve stressed, but… I’ve also learned. Throughout the process, with each mistake I made on my part, I’ve learned how to do better next time. I learned how to prioritize and become more efficient with my time.

Every time I tripped, I picked myself back up again. By reflecting on how my days went, I was able to pinpoint the areas in which I could improve.

Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned from being a parent is that there is no such thing as a perfect day. Parenting and perfect days just don’t coexist. That means that one day it’s okay to be super productive and the next day to feel like a total failure. But does it mean you can’t make the most out of each and every day? Of course, it doesn’t. While I can’t ensure every day is perfect, I can still learn how to make the most of it.

As humans, we constantly learn and grow and our mistakes and failures can only help us do better next time.

The takeaway

The bottom line is life isn’t perfect. As humans, we all make mistakes, don’t we? Not every day you envisioned for yourself will go as planned. If today is not your day and you don’t feel particularly productive, don’t beat yourself up for it. Instead, use it as a learning opportunity to learn and grow.

Take a deep breath and reflect. See what went wrong and what you can do better next time to avoid making the same mistakes. Reflection is the key.

Making mistakes is good and can only make you stronger. Maybe today isn’t a good day for you, but tomorrow will be. That means you can start planning for a better day right now.