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How To Be Truly Productive

Before COVID-19, the idea of working from home was practically nonexistent. Business leaders were concerned about the level of productivity from employees if they were permitted to work from home. There is less supervision and coaching that can occur. Now that most employees are working from home, studies are finding that there is actually a boost in productivity. One study found that (in a business of 16,000 employees), there was a 13% performance increase, improved satisfaction, and fewer break/sick days as a result of working remotely. Similar studies have found that working from home improves productivity and creativity with 85% of companies studied reporting increased productivity.

Mindfulness practices, such as meditation, is another contributing factor to well-being at work and happier, healthier, more productive employees. Researchers have found that mindfulness slows down the heart rate and brain-wave patterns, gives our immune system a boost, and improves cardiac functioning. These positive effects lead to fewer health problems, improved relationships, and even longer lives. Similar studies found that the power of mindfulness sharpens our focus, provides clarity, decreases stress levels, and leads to better decision-making ability– all pros for good business practice. As more research on mindfulness and its many benefits continues to come out, more corporate leaders are finding ways to incorporate mindfulness into their remote work environments.

At Mental Treat, we focus heavily on the importance of meditation and its many benefits, but what actually is productivity? In this article, we will work to find out just that.

How to Identify False Productivity

When we start our day and identify what we need to accomplish, it can be easy to fall victim to the idea that we need to fill all 24 hours of the day. This false sense of productivity can actually do a lot more harm than good. We tend to fall into traps of wishful thinking and this leads us to procrastinate more. Positive thinking can definitely boost productivity, but wishful thinking shapes our decisions based on what we find pleasing to imagine instead of what is rational. This to say, wishful thinking can actually make us focus on goals that are unattainable.

This is a greater form of procrastination. When we do not want to work, planning and reading can act as an illusionary substitute. This gives us the illusion that we are being productive, without ever actually being productive. When we spend time researching tips and tricks to being productive or buying a bullet journal, we are actually preventing ourselves from being productive. Subscribing too much to these ideas of productivity rather than taking steps to be productive is counterintuitive to the process.

However, it can be difficult to overcome the hurdle of procrastination. Tasks we are avoiding can be tedious or boring, but procrastination can lead to stress and anxiety. We are drawn to people who have ‘they key to success’ and can find it reassuring to follow someone else’s lead. Although we are often left disappointed when the ‘effortless’ success we were promised fails to come to fruition.

What is Mindfulness Productivity and Its Components?

Mindfulness is one of the most important practices we can participate in. When our jobs and lives get hectic, it can be difficult to remember to be mindful. You do not need to meditate every day to experience the successes of mindfulness productivity. There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness productivity strategies into your work day so you can perform to the best of your ability.

Components:

Presence

Do not get caught up in reliving past work problems or future worries.

Awareness

Do not judge the emotions you feel, but rather be aware that they are there.

Flow

This is about striking the right balance of being challenged and your skill level.

Curiosity

Take time to observe the world around you, learn, and ask questions to boost creativity.

Growth

Have a growth mindset (you believe you can improve your intelligence and skills with hard work).

Metacognition

This means “thinking about thinking”; take time for yourself outside of work.

Single Task

Many people are bad at multitasking, so focus on one thing at a time.

Breaks

Not just to get coffee, but to center yourself and focus on your thoughts/emotions.

Motivation

If you are struggling to stay motivated, find ways to avoid procrastination.

Environment

Do what you can to boost your productivity within the space you are working, such as: decluttering, decreasing distractions and noise level, and otherwise find what works best for you.

A concept in positive psychology that relates to this is the ‘flow zone’. The flow zone refers to when it is easy to have time pass by and be committed to work that you find it difficult to be distracted. It varies from person to person. The best way to get in the flow zone is to do a task that is challenging enough that you find it enjoyable. Participating in mindfulness productivity can help us achieve this level of flow more often.

To Be Truly Productive, You Need to Be Motivated (and not only by money)

We all have goals that keep us motivated. This can be wanting to walk the Great Wall of China or save enough money to buy a sweater you saw in a store window. When it is difficult to achieve these goals and stay motivated, we procrastinate. Motivation is the desire to act and move towards a specific goal.

Professor Hugo M. Kehr at the University of California, Berkeley developed a model of motivation to identify all the sources of motivation an individual may have. They are:

  • Explicit motives: motives we attribute to ourselves in a conscious way.
  • Implicit motives: unconscious reasons that explain why we may act a particular way.
  • Perceived abilities: what we believe we are capable of accomplishing.

Our rational intentions, emotional sphere, and our skills are all interlinked. Every time you work to accomplish a goal or perform a task, these different motives come into play. For optimal performance and motivation, all three must be fulfilled. When this happens, we are in the flow zone. Although, if one of the three is missing, we start to feel unmotivated. It is important to push through in those moments, as this feeling is only temporary.

Money can be a great motivator, sure, but what is important is that the motivation is a combination of things. When we are motivated by money alone, it can feel unfulfilling, stressful, and unsatisfying.

Keep the Focus

Our attention spans are short nowadays it can be very difficult for anything to hold our attention. In order to understand how to focus your mind better, you need to understand the attentional field. One’s attentional field is a combination of everything inside of you (thoughts, emotions, physical sensations) and everything outside (what you see and hear). Focus is the ability to concentrate on things inside or out of your mind in a deliberate way.

When you are working and get a notification, two parts of your brain are activated in how you manage your attention. The prefrontal cortex is engaged when you start concentrating, and the parietal cortex is activated when a distracting event occurs. Research shows that the neurons in these regions emit pulses of electrical activity at different rates. Slower frequencies are in the prefrontal cortex and faster ones are in the parietal region. Distractions are constant, and we are being interrupted by information all the time. It is very difficult to stay focused.

On average, our minds are wandering half the time. This occurs when we are thinking about things that are not happening around us, such as past or future events. Daydreaming and letting your mind wander can be very good for your

brain, however if you partake too much, it can have negative effects on your performance at work and in your daily life.

Tips for focusing:

  • Monitor your thoughts
    When you feel yourself slipping and thinking of things that have nothing to do with what is currently happening, take note of that and refocus. Allow yourself to daydream on your break, but try to monitor your attention and not lose focus when you are working on a task.

● Manage your distractions
This should always begin with putting your phone away. Social media and other notifications are major distractions. If you can make your work environment a space where you can concentrate, it will be much easier to boost your productivity.

● Strengthen your brain’s circuitry
This is a great way to train your brain to be more productive. When you do breathing exercises regularly it helps improve your focus and circuitry.

Use Mindfulness Context Switching Instead of Multitasking

Multitasking is unrealistic for many people. With so much to do and so little time, it can feel nearly impossible to keep up with everything. So, what is mindfulness context switching? It boils down to these 5 steps:

1. Define your responsiveness: how responsive do you need to be for everyone? If someone expects to hear back from you within the hour, then that is how responsive you need to be. If you are working in situations not as critical, then maybe an email once a day is sufficient. There is no set rule, so figure out what works best for you and your business.

2. Identify manageable sections of work: when you understand how responsive you need to be, you can break down tasks into smaller sections that can be done between these response times. Keep these chunks realistic and identify a beginning, middle, and end for each section.

3. Schedule dedicated time: put these sections together in your calendar.

4. Communicate effectively: let people know that you will not be able to respond during these time slots. There are many ways of communicating this: sharing a calendar, putting it in an email signature, or autoresponder.

5. Revisit regularly: reflect on what worked and what did not, and adjust accordingly. Play with it until you find what works best for you.

Be Curious

We all have a fear of failing when it comes to important tasks and jobs, but let’s not forget that this can be a good thing. The problem becomes when we are so scared of failing that we lose our motivation to keep going and be productive. You have to remember that no one is rooting for you to fail, in fact, most people want your success.

The best way to approach this fear of failure is to think like a kid. Instead of fixating on the ways you could fail, keep an open mind and curate curiosity. Children are constantly experimenting; what happens if I touch this button? How hot is the oven really? For better or worse, they do not take these answers for granted. Boost your curiosity and creativity by trying things a little different.

Pick a task you have been putting off because of fear. Is it conquering public speaking? Write it down. Next, identify a step you can take to achieve this. This should be simple enough that you can just do it. Once you have taken that first step, reflect on what happened. What did you learn? What did you experience? Write it down. Finally, rinse and repeat. Continue to identify steps and push yourself out of your comfort! You will find that a sense of curiosity will do wonders here.

Do Not Work Too Much

There is a misconception that the more we work, the more productive we are being. However, this is not always the case. In the 1950s, Illinois Institute of Technology professors Raymond Van Zelst and Willard Kerr surveyed about 200 colleagues about their work habits and schedules. They created a graph that articulated the amount of time they spent working in the office against the number of articles they published to measure their productivity. They found that researchers who spent 25 h0urs working per week were no more productive than those who spent five. This suggests that if your job does not require you to perform many physical tasks it would make more sense to do creative work for four hours per day.

Some of the most accomplished people only worked a few hours per day. Charles Dickens would work no more than five hours a day and then spend the rest of his time reading and with friends. Charles Darwin was famous for starting his day around 8:30/9am and being done by noon. He took his time with his work and spent time with his loved ones.

Rest is an incredibly important part of productivity. When we are stuck at home 24/7, we can forget that that does not mean we should be working 24/7. If you feel guilty about not working, remember that breaks and relaxation are important to accomplishing your goals and tasks.

Tips for Staying Mindfully Creative

Now that you have information on what productive work actually means, here are 10 tips on staying mindfully creative!

1. Define your workspace
Even if you do not have a home office, there are ways to make your workspace at home as specific as possible to boost productivity. If you have a space that you designate as your workspace, you will be able to avoid intruding on the lives of your household members and check what you need for work. Avoid spreading out on the kitchen table and find a quiet, separate area to boost your productivity.

2. Create scaffolding
The best way to keep yourself on track is to establish a schedule and stick to it. Avoid sleeping in or breaking routine. Only go into your office space to complete a task, and try to maintain the same hours you did in the office to not overwhelm yourself with the workload.

3. Set boundaries
Learning to say no is helpful in all aspects of life. If you are already feeling overwhelmed by a project, do not commit yourself to another one. When you say no to a task you know you are too overwhelmed to do, you are taking care of your physical and mental health. Make sure you complete personal tasks outside of work time.

4. Block off time for relationships
It can be easy to get caught up in the virtual world and forget to make time for real human interaction. Take time off to unwind and relax. Integrate time for your personal life to be part of your work day. Whether that is taking the kids to school or eating lunch with the family, make sure you are finding time to separate work and personal time.

5. Pace yourself
Make a cognizant effort to be in the present. Studies have found that productivity is boosted when you achieve balance, so be finding the speed with which you are talking to coworkers, walking, and even trying. Take your time with tasks and you will end up being more productive.

6. Practice self-care
Self-care can mean eating nutritious foods, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly. When we are all stuck at home, it can be difficult to find motivation for self-care, but find moments to treat yourself. If you are not taking care of yourself, you will be unable to take care of others.

7. Unplug
The most effective method for boosting productivity is making sure you spend time in other pursuits besides productivity. We are not built to sit at desks all day. Take time for a snack, a walk, a breath, or a stretch. Unplugging is a great way to practice the mindfulness we discussed earlier.

8. Cultivate self-compassion
Pay attention to how you talk to yourself and deal with situations. Instead of attacking yourself when you make a mistake, shower yourself with compassion. When you feel overwhelmed, talk to yourself with kind words. You will feel more positively about tasks you have to accomplish when you take time to acknowledge that you are just a person doing your best.

9. Share the load
You do not have to do everything. Manage your schedule, do not let it manage you. Please ask for help when you need it and practice delegating. This is the sign of an efficient and productive employee. Make sure everyone you live with is doing their part in dividing up work so you can focus on being productive in your job. Prioritizing tasks and delegating is the key to success.

10. Avoid multitasking
As we mentioned, multitasking does not work. People who focus on one task at a time are much calmer and more productive. As much as we think doing as many things at a time would

A Word from Mental Treat

There you have it! The true meaning of productivity. Now, this may be a lot to take in, but as long as you remember to be present, bring your full attention to your work, and be aware of your emotions, you will be overall more productive, creative, and happier. Achieving your goals and boosting your productivity is easy with these mindful productivity principles. Taking care of your well being and emphasizing that growth mindset is critical. Do not let a fear of failure or a lack of confidence make you feel like you are not being productive. Productivity is a mindset. We wish you the best of luck on your journey to true productivity!

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