4 Misleading Productivity Hacks That Are Overrated in Modern Society
If you want to succeed, choose your failures — in advance
Imagine flying through your to-do list and noticing your tasks crossed by a (winking) checkmark. Congratulations… you did it!
Sounds like a dream come true. We all want to ‘shut our eyes’ before peeking at the to-do list to pretend nothing’s left. But we secretly know there’s much, much left.
Even though you’ve turned 30 this year, you still don’t know which productivity hacks stink. The wrong productivity hack is like a black hole that sucks our fuel.
The good news: With this article, we can learn plenty of alternative tips to expand productivity.
Before we move on, here’s a calculation you need to see: (teary-eyed:/)
- For an average 80-year-old, we have 29,220 days.
- Suppose you’re 30, 18,262 days are already spoiled
- In short, don’t ruin the leftover days
With the proper productive strategies, we can turn pollen into honey. And if the thought of the above calculation overwhelms you, fear not! We’re all on the same river, just different boats.
Below are 4 productivity advice with alternatives for each one.
Let’s get started:
1. All or nothing mindset
Andrew Blackman believes:
Most productivity tips fail for a sheer reason: They focus on techniques and systems instead of underlying behaviors.
We are primarily in a do-or-die situation. Either we complete the task or behold a badge of inconsistency.
Scary.
An all-or-nothing mindset is a negative thought process situation where we refuse to modify a task. In other words, it’s likely:
- There’s a power outage
- Your MacBook’s battery is dead
- You feel unhappy
- Client’s not responding
Besides, these situations are out of our control. We ruin the whole day when we intentionally wait and refuse to continue our tasks. An all-or-nothing mindset is quite common amongst perfectionists.
- Remember: life is not always chocolate and sea salt.
Sometimes we have to adjust with melted ice cream too. (Of course, it’s 40°+ in the UK.)
To stroll away from all-or-nothing, start acknowledging your work. Accept that doing something is better than doing nothing. The hard-boiled part is initiating (booting) — the rest gets easier — I promise.
Sara Ashley, the Purewow.com editor, talks about a few tips to break the mindful distortion habit at its fullest:
- Keep a record of the work you do
- If you feel unmotivated, exercise
- Focus on the good things
- Replace “or” with “and”
- Embrace mistakes
2. Overworking
When we learn skating, we’re always told:
- Reviewing videos does not help
- Only physical action does
For almost everything we do, tutorial videos work when we implement them. Take, for example, swimming, cooking, and drawing. But there’s a stigma attached to physical action: overworking.
To excel at something, you don’t need to overwork.
E.g., Timothy Ferris is a writer and author of 12 best-selling books. His net worth is roughly $100 million.
Funny, he works 4 hours per week (+1,-1). You might be working more than 14 hours per day, but you still don’t have a net worth of $100 million.
Neither do I.
Let me explain:
Author, Blas Koz explains: Overworking and working smartly are two separate things. Competent workers always think before they act, and overthinkers do the otherwise.
If you’re guilty of overworking, remember that your knowledge is your brain power.
According to Robert Kiyosaki, most people spend their lives minding someone else’s business and making that person rich. To avoid overworking:
- Set strict boundaries
- Minimize distractions
- Say “no” to people
- Indulge in fun activities to recharge your brain
Remember that taking breaks is a part of your work — as it recharges your brain. Take measures that comb your lifestyle and lift the burden off your shoulders.
3. Working without a purpose
When facing writer’s block, what is your go-to approach?
Maybe you:
- Brainstorm
- Writing freestyle
- Scream at the top of your lungs
“Writing freestyle” is one of the well-known tips I’ve always heard — it barely works.
But have you ever thought about what you would do with writing if you write poorly? Writing without a purpose doesn’t help. For writer’s block, it’s okay, but for everyday life, it’s not.
- Imagine yourself editing a story you wrote on writer’s block and considering all the mistakes you’re correcting when you could (Godsake) have written a better piece.
One can never benefit from writing without purpose unless you’re ‘Marcus Aurelius,’ who marked his journal daily. Similar is the case with working. It’s better not to increase the workload because you’re bored and fronting procrastination.
Spiritual coach and author Peri Pakroo conveys: “Our happiness and health gradually improve when we wake up feeling excited and eager for the day ahead. A clear sense of purpose is an intrinsic motivator, so invest some time in finding yours.”
Not having a purpose is not a mindful task — but lethal. Instead, construct your mind about what you desire to do today. Inhabit yourself with the goodness of today’s blessings.
And if you’re tired, learn to rest, not to quit.
4. Loud sound frequency
Simple breathing exercises and meditation music can do wonders beyond the normal mind can wonder.
A month ago, I opened my arms to slow music — here are the facts:
- I always write with mediation music in the background
- I listen to slow/reverb songs on YouTube
- When I’m bored, I listen to Mozart’s music
In short, my life has drastically changed since I moved toward low-frequency music from hard, metal ones.
Although I listen to the songs I value from “The Weeknd,” but in a lagging motion. This helps me think clearly.
We don’t realize it, but the song’s rhythm deeply reflects our lifestyle. Imagine waking up and listening to hard metal songs.
Try, for one day, listening to slow melodies and observing the difference. Scientific research explains: listening to the same song with repetitive tasks enriches productivity.
For now, I have set parameters of the identical songs to listen to while doing chores.
For example: dedicate a piece of simple deep work music for writing. Every time you play it, you’ll be constantly reminded of writing.
Listening to some tracks helps with productivity and completing even the most tricky tasks, writes Scotts Mautz, Author.
Try it!
Final thoughts:
Living in a society filled with social media users, we are often mistaken as unproductive.
Why? Because you might not post everything, you’re doing. This way, people think you’re good as a butcher.
Society has a lot to say. Remember that the most successful people are one step further from listening to social chitchats and overcoming generational stigmas.
- Productivity is like a banana, peel to reveal goodness.
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