I forget what promoted this question for me last year, but as I lay in bed snuggling my pup today, it came into my mind again. I began to reflect on how again this has changed -“what does productivity mean to me?” I smile at how the definition of this has evolved as I’ve grown. Three years ago I would have defined it with course work. Last year’s answer without hesitation would be a fully time corporate job. Three months ago it would have been the flexibility and balance of achieving personal and career goals. Now, today, when I think about productivity I think of it in a larger aspect with multiple facets- especially during COVID-19. A month into quarantine, productivity to me reflects balance and stillness. This means being able to achieve the things I want and need to do while also observing and managing them- aka no burnout. Productivity to me doesn’t mean temporary sustainability, but rather longevity. While it’s fun and “productive” on the surface to work 15 hour days, hustle like crazy and work on all of my goals, it ‘isn’t productive in the long run because I become run down, uninspired and in the end lack motivation to keep up with the momentum and progress I made.
Photo: Jack Grooms; Outfit: Mes Amies Boutique
The coronavirus is redefining productivity for me and helping me see that it is more than “the state or quality of producing something”. I used to think the only way to be productive was to SEE what my hard work had produced. But, oftentimes the most productive things can not be seen. I’m using my time in quarantine to look inward- to tackle a few personal goal- such as not being dependent on feeling “productive” every day by the things I am doing- but rather, take this time to explore and grow. I am rewiring how I approach my productivity by including soul, self, mind, and body care daily. While it is perfectly okay to identify and seek productivity in our work, I know that I easily hyper focus on this. I don’t want to make this my one and only priority. I want to have more balance and see the productivity of myself versus a thing I have created or worked towards accomplishing.
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examples of What a productive day looks like for me:
At the end of the day I measure my productivity by implementing something from each of the categories below, around my work schedule.
Soul care
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Reading the Bible
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Starting a new devotion/ going through my current one
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Listening to a sermon
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Spending extra time in prayer
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Going for a prayer walk
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Doing a Christian yoga video- I love Caroline Williams Yoga
self care
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Calling a friend
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Listing to my favorite playlist/ albums
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Watching a movie
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Reading
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Writing
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Scheduling a blog post
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Researching something I’m interested in or passionate about
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Sitting on my deck in the sunshine
mind care
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Meditating and doing the Pause App
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Sitting outside on my deck in the sunshine without distractions
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Setting a time during the day to be technology free
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Doing an activity where I think-: puzzle, baking, sudoku, solitaire, cooking
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Cleaning or organizing something
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Practicing gratitude and thinking of all the things I am grateful for in the moment, the day, week, month, year, and over my life
body care
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Drinking enough water- HOW TO CALCULATE: drink half of your bodyweight in ounces
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Eating enough throughout the day- making sure I refuel with protein
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Walking at least 1 mile every day with my dog- we’re doing the 30/30 challenge with rescue run club
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Scheduling time do to a yoga video or a virtual class with Lori or Jaq (depending on the day)
what does productivity mean and look like to you?
