The Internet is flooding with various channels and streams of articles about productivity. From YouTube to Facebook, there are influencers everywhere giving away all sorts of life hacks. There are infinite sources of information and not all are equally credible. The clickbait culture has made people come up with content that is not grounded at all. They make it sound as if they have some magic potions that will change you for good. For example, we continuously see blogs that promise you overnight change and growth in your career. The truth is, it takes time and patience to build habits and be more productive. It is the same information circulating on the internet or re-packaged in some way. Most of us feel stuck with the same habits.
The problem with the majority of the content out there is not just limited to it being useless. It is also counterproductive. The following are 3 major myths about productivity:
Myth 1: Imitating the habits of highly successful people will make you better off
There are a lot of articles that like to glorify the habits and routines of people who have achieved monumental success. For example, Steve Jobs used to have two foods in a week, Oprah never missed a meeting in her life, Tim Cook wakes up at 3:45 am every day, and so on. The concept of valorizing the routines of successful people is wrong on multiple fronts.
Many people who are able to develop the same habits fail to become successful in life. It is proven scientifically, putting people who have achieved monumental success can unknowingly hinder your efforts. We tend to think of those successful people as infallible figures and that again is quite problematic. We tend to neglect the challenges and struggles of those people. For example, Benjamin Franklin despite his great virtues and accomplishments was not great at organizing his possessions and found it vexing.
Make them your inspiration and not idols
It is great to admire people who you think you can learn from. Try their approach if you think it can help you. Emulate productivity ideas that suit you and discard other traits that may not appeal to you. It is good to get inspired by people who’s lives appeal to you. Taking human inspiration is very different from idolization.
Myth 2: Make the most out of each moment
This is one of the most prevalent myths out there. It is so much ingrained in the minds of people that they conflate it with productivity itself. Productivity is not about maximizing your output all the time. It is a scientific fact that an exclusive focus on maximization actually diminishes your creativity.
In fact, human nature is not in tune with you being a perpetual accomplishment machine. We humans have two to three productive hours each day. It is about the utilization of that and being good at time management. It is important to utilize the time wisely and be cognizant of the time you waste.
According to another scientific study, “Productivity and creativity demand opposite attention management strategies. Productivity is fueled by raising attentional filters to keep unrelated or distracting thoughts out. But creativity is fueled by lowering attentional filters to let those thoughts in.” People who are creative take proper rest and sleep a lot. They conserve their energy and do not let calendars or externalities control their thoughts and actions.
Focus on the hours of the day you are most productive
Firstly, it is important to focus on identifying those fleeting hours when you are most productive. The key is to focus on that frame of time when you are most productive and use techniques like Eat the Frog or Time Blocking. Use that time to do your most critical and important tasks. Outside these hours make sure you disconnect for some time and take proper sleep.
Myth 3: Set huge goals
We are surrounded by media and the self-improvement literature all the time. It often makes it seem like the people who have huge goals are the most successful and productive in life. For example, if you set goals like running a marathon so that you can run more. Or writing a novel, so that you can write more. It is likely you will overwhelm yourself with these goals and ultimately start to loath the activity itself. You will start finding writing and running, daunting.
A group of studies from the University of Chicago and Korea Business School concluded that heavily focusing on activities like creating origami, yoga, running on a treadmill, and even flossing, was correlated with dropping out earlier. In another experiment, two groups of students were taken. One group was told to do workout and think of it as a means to lose weight. The other group was also asked to work out but were asked to solely look forward to the experience of doing exercise. Students from both groups were made to share their intentions. The group with the intention to lose weight decided to run for a longer time than those who were asked to focus on the experience. The results were just the opposite, students who focused on the experience ran for much longer (43 mins.) as compared to the ones who focussed on the goal (34 mins).
In order to achieve sustainable habits, it is best to focus on small easily achievable tasks. Forcing yourself to stay focused strips away the inherent pleasure of the activities.
Start with small and consistent habits
Many of us happen to lose steam, get discouraged and thrown off the track prematurely. Only because we bite more than we chew. It is recommended to start off with small and achievable goals. Build a routine and try to manage your goals in a way that you are not bored or discouraged to pursue.