"Productivity" Is Overrated And Might Hurt Your Success, Here's Why

People these days like being "productive". Ain't they.

It's almost turned into a value of its own I think- like freedom, justice or respect. PRODUCTIVIY! Or in other words, "How do I squeeze every moment of life to become exhausted and depressed".

We worship productive people. Elon Musk never sleeps and other entrepreneurs work their asses off to hustle. HUSTLE became synonymous with productivity.

But it's madness.

The issue with "productivity" methods

You want to maximize every second of the day. Make it efficient. It's easy to fall into this trap.

You read all these methods online, which sounds cool and even seductive. "Productivity Techniques" draw this picture in my mind where I control my day down the second and become successful that way. Kinda like a superpower.

But if you let it pull you in, you start acting like a machine. All you want is to be productive. And that's a harmful mindset to be in.

For three years, I worked on my marketing agency's side hustle and was always on the run.

"When was the last time I remembered a birthday?"- pops into my mind- a line by Kanye West.

Even when I sat down to relax, I was stressed. I thought about the tasks I had to complete. Like nothing else mattered. I prioritized work over time with family and friends. Over rest and sound sleep.

What a mistake that was. After three years, I almost broke physically. I'm pretty sure I was close to a nervous breakdown.

On top of being physically tired, I felt ill. I was emotionally and mentally tired as well. And if this wasn't enough, I had people screaming "Hustle!!" in my ear all the time.

I decided it was enough.

"Sleep is for broke people"

50 cent used to say, "Sleep is for broke people."

Later in his career, he mentioned in his book "Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter," that he was influenced by Nas rapping ", Sleep is the cousin of death".

He doesn't believe that anymore.

I also believed this bullshit a while back. Whenever I skipped sleep, it hit me back like boomerang weeks later.

Initially, I thought, "You know what, if I skip a night or two of good sleep, nothing happens." Then I skipped another two nights. And another night of restful sleep.

Three weeks later, I burned out and couldn't work for days. All the time I spent working instead of sleeping was wasted.

Bottom line, throughout the month, I wasn't more productive. And my mood got worse with time.

The "5 AM club" and "waking up at 6 AM" won't do any good if you're exhausted.

Not everyone is built to wake up early. I need to get at least 8 hours of restful sleep or feel like crap.

Waking up at 5 AM won't work for me in the long run because it doesn't fit my body. Quality sleep is essential. Rest is important. And it's precious if you try to perform at your peak.

When you don't sleep well, you're vulnerable to distractions. Every little thing catches your attention. And "productivity" goes out the window.

Get some good sleep at least five nights a week. Take some time off to smell the roses on the sideway,

They got to sell you SOMETHING

As with any self-improvement content, the truth is simpler than it seems.

Want to be productive? Sleep well, replace crappy food with nutrients, exercise and remove distractions. That's it. For bonus points, make it a habit to learn a new skill for an hour a day.

But people who sell productivity won't be in a rush to tell you it's that simple. They'll tell you about ten different morning routines, apps and other bullshit.

You don't need all that. You need to stick to the basics and manage your energy correctly.

It might seem logical- to think you need more to get more. But once you take care of the basics, you realize there's nothing to add or remove.

Nothing to optimize. It works, and that's it- no need to complicate life.

The goal of life isn't to be productive

A person isn't born to spend his life being productive.

This is how families are ruined sometimes, ain't it. The father is busy with work and doesn't see his kids.

Meanwhile, his family is miserable, and his wife sleeps with the neighbour next door. Great stuff.

Don't be the guy or gal who runs around like crazy, thinking about the next task. That's insane if you ask me.

Conclusion: swap "productivity" with this

"Stop measuring your days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by a degree of presence"- Alan Watts.

I love this. This simple shift alone made me happier. I was no longer running around chasing time. Seek awareness first.

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