I Don’t Want to Be Productive All the Time.

We often confuse or mix terms of productivity with busyness. Being busy all the time doesn’t mean you are productive.

What do you mean by productivity? Productivity is when you do all the things that contribute to the goal you have in your mind. That means the input you produced with your actions and time must be directly related to the output you want as your goal or desire. But it has no relation with being busy all the time.

Doing one thing at a time is more productive than multitasking.

Suppose You have an exam of business studies in 4 days, you need to learn 12 chapters for your exam. You easily divide 3 chapters a day to complete 12 chapters in four days, with enough time for revision. There are 2 students. Student A studies all day, forgets his playing time, doesn’t do any other things but just focus on those 3 chapters whole day even when his mind is looking around all what is happening in the day, or what is in the tv. Student B also divides 3 chapters a day, but also denotes time for his playing activities, 1 hour of tv, But studies at night mindfully without any distraction or interference for 5 hours Then sleeps.

Who do you think is more productive?

Answer is Student B. Because that student does cultivate his time mindfully. He also enjoy, gives time to himself, his hobbies and his sleep. But when it was the time for study, Student B studies without any distraction.

Whereas Student A was studying whole day for those 3 chapters. Student B was able to learn those 3 chapters in short amount of time as compared to student A.

When you do things with mindfulness and without distraction for a particular goal, you do things with more productively rather than being busy whole day. Dedicating the specific amount to a particular activity actually increases your productivity rather than multitasking. So, Doing one thing at a time is more productive than multitasking.

Choosing what matters

Choosing what really matters and contribute to the goal you want is really important. Rather than wasting time on all the things and doing everything, Do things that directly adds to your goal.

Here is one trick to do this effectively.

80-20 rule

Doing the 20% that makes the 80% impact rather than doing 80% things that makes only 20% impact. Rather than focusing on everything, focus on that 20% which makes the maximum impact.

Burnout medal

If you are asking yourself this question ” Why am I doing so much and still feeling like I’m not doing enough?”

You are not alone.

We are living in an era, where everyone and everything around is glorifying the burnout- whether it is MNCs, social media, your peers etc. When you compare your life to others, you realize, you have so many things to achieve, you so much to learn, you have so much to focus on fitness, clothes, home, relationships etc.

“Everywhere you look, you are being told that you need to do more, be more, achieve more, and show the world a polished version of yourself.” – Ayushi Goyal

-One of the line from Letter 7 from my book Rise again in Fire

but one thing many of us forget and I want to tell you bluntly that, No one is going to give you medal for burning out.

yes, you red it right. No one is giving you medal for burning out yourself everyday. Yes, You are doing it to make a good life for yourself, your family or whoever matters to you. But, how is it serving you now? tell me? how? how do you feel, when it is leaving you with nothing but stress and anxiety? Are you not tired of the whole comparison game?

You can not really compare yourself to others, the truth is not everyone starts from 0.

Some start with 5, may be you are on 3 or 7.

You can’t compare your life and goals with someone who is on 9.

I am not saying that the person with more material things is on number 9. There is no 0,5, 3,7 or 9. There is no level. I am saying is, there is no comparison. No one is above and behind you. It is your life. Only you set your number with the past, present and future version of you.

Not everyone wishes for the same things you want. There are people in world who just wants a good meal one time a day, there are people who are saving for a long time for a four wheeler, whereas there are people who are born with these, now aiming for private jet. And there are people who are born with a private jet in their life, may be wishing for more.

If you really want to compare, compare the past version of you vs your present. See how far you have come, then set the goal for the future.

If you are experiencing overwhelm with your feelings around burnout, Journaling about feelings is what really helped me. If you don’t know where to start. Click here.

I am leaving here few reflection journaling prompts to answer your doubts. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether you’re doing enough, working too slowly, or simply trying to keep up with everything around you, you’re probably not alone.

I explored some of these questions deeply in my Q&A on productivity, rest, ambition, and the fear of falling behind.

Q&A IDEAS AROUND PRODUCTIVITY( PERSONAL REFLECTIONS)

1. Why am I always busy but still feel behind?

Problem: Too many competing priorities.

Feeling of Frustration, inadequacy, exhaustion.

Reflection: When did being busy become proof that I was making progress?

2. Why can’t I relax without feeling guilty?

Problem: Rest feels like laziness.

Feeling: Guilt and restlessness.

Reflection: Why do I feel like I need to earn my rest?

3. Am I actually productive, or am I just constantly doing things?

Problem: Activity gets confused with meaningful progress.

Feeling: Confusion and dissatisfaction.

Reflection: When I look back at a busy day, what did I actually accomplish that mattered?

4. Why does my to-do list make me more anxious?

Problem: Everything feels urgent and important.

Feeling: Overwhelm.

Reflection: Maybe the problem isn’t that I need to become better at managing my tasks. Maybe I have too many tasks.

5. Why do I keep searching for better productivity systems?

Problem: Constantly looking for a better method, app, routine, or system.

Feeling: Hope mixed with exhaustion.

Reflection: What if I don’t need a better productivity system? What if I simply need fewer things to do?

6. Is slowing down just another form of procrastination?

Problem: It’s difficult to know whether you’re intentionally slowing down or simply avoiding something.

Feeling: Doubt.

Reflection: How can I tell the difference between resting, moving slowly, and procrastinating?

7. If I do less, won’t I fall behind?

Problem: Fear that slowing down will have consequences.

Feeling: Anxiety.

Reflection: What am I actually afraid will happen if I stop trying to keep up?

8. Why do I feel bad when I haven’t accomplished enough in a day?

Problem: Self-worth becomes connected to output.

Feeling: Guilt and disappointment.

Reflection: Who decides what “enough” means?

9. Do I really need to optimize everything?

Problem: Productivity starts entering every area of life.

Feeling: Exhaustion.

Reflection: When did reading, exercise, hobbies, and even rest become things I needed to optimize?

10. Why can’t I focus anymore?

Problem: Constant switching between tasks, messages, notifications, and responsibilities.

Feeling: Frustration.

Reflection: What happens when I stop asking my attention to be everywhere at once?

11. What if I don’t want to achieve everything anymore?

Problem: Old ambitions may no longer feel meaningful.

Feeling: Uncertainty.

Reflection: Is it possible that some of the things I once wanted simply don’t matter to me anymore?

12. Can I still be ambitious and work slowly?

Problem: We often associate ambition with speed.

Feeling: Fear of falling behind.

Reflection: Maybe ambition doesn’t require constant urgency.

13. Why do I feel like everyone else is moving faster than me?

Problem: Comparison with other people’s careers, achievements, lifestyles, and timelines.

Feeling: Insecurity.

Reflection: Whose timeline am I actually trying to keep up with?

14. What happens when I leave empty space in my day?

Problem: Feeling uncomfortable with unstructured time.

Feeling: Restlessness.

Reflection: What might I discover if I stop filling every empty moment?

15. Why do I feel like I’m wasting time when I’m doing nothing?

Problem: Constant productivity conditioning.

Feeling: Guilt.

Reflection: Does every hour really need to produce something?

THE DEEPER QUESTIONS for more advanced Journaling:

What am I actually rushing toward?

When did resting become something I had to deserve?What if doing less makes me feel like less?Why do I feel guilty when I’m not achieving something?When did being busy become part of my identity?What if I don’t need to keep up?Can I be ambitious without constantly being in a hurry?What am I afraid will happen if I slow down?Do I actually want a fuller life, or just a fuller schedule?What would my life look like if I stopped trying to optimize every minute?

Why am I so tired when I’m getting so much done? Why do I feel guilty when I’m not productive? What if I don’t actually need a better productivity system? Can I slow down without becoming lazy? Can I still be ambitious without constantly rushing?

And the central question tying everything together could be:

“Can I be ambitious without constantly being in a hurry?”