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What May be Causing Your Lack of Productivity Without You Even Knowing It
By Carlon Haas | August 17, 2007
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Most of what I’ve ever read about time management and how to be productive deals with organizing and re-organizing. And much of that is necessary (in fact, I blog about things to eliminate things as a means of organizing all the time). The more I read about time management, however, the more it seems to focus on modern technology and information overload. For example, you might hear people tell you to throw away your blackberry (not a bad idea, but…).
That is good advice. But I have found that there is one thing that will kill your production. And it has nothing to do with modern technology. In fact, this was a problem since the dawn of mankind and doing nothing about it will stop your production dead in its tracks.
And that problem is…
…depression.
Now, I don’t mean depression with a capital D. This is not clinical depression. Such a disorder should be treated by a trained professional.
No, what I am talking about here are all those times we get into a funk. Get the blues. Whatever you want to call it. I can honestly tell you that when I get in one of those moods, I find it almost IMPOSSIBLE to work. But that’s not all. I can’t study. I can’t concentrate on much of anything.
And let me be upfront with all of you: I am one of the most happy-go-lucky, go-with-the-flow people you will ever meet. But I still get down sometimes. And when I do, I can go an entire day or more doing nothing.
Compared to that, e-mail distractions are nothing.
So, what do you do when you find yourself feeling depressed?
I can’t give you any “magic pill” that will satisfy everyone, but here are a few things I do to help me crawl out of those periods of depression that kill my productivity:
1. Use the “so what” method
Usually something gets you down, or maybe you feel down and have to justify it by thinking of something that makes you feel down. For example, thoughts like “where I am going to get the money to pay for X”, “what will happen if I don’t get that job,” etc. etc.
Worries like this need to be put under the “so what” test. Ask yourself honestly, so, what if I don’t have the money to pay for X. Will the world end? Half the time the consequences we imagine are much worse than the actual consequences. Reality is a good tonic when we start getting down.
2. Sing
This is my #1 method for getting myself out of the blues. I sing. Quite loudly. And I honestly don’t care if others don’t like it. It may be annoying to some, but I when I sing the stress just melts away.
In
3. Laugh
Learn to laugh at the things around you. You can find humor in almost anything (even in dark things…hello…”dark humor”). Watch a funny movie. Read some jokes. Read some comics. Do whatever you can to produce laughter. I was feeling down the other day and watch a few video clips of Will Ferrell doing a George W. Bush imitation and I laughed so hard that the people around me were getting a bit upset.
But I simply replied, “put on your headphones cause I’ll be doing this for at least another half hour.” That took care of that.
These are my methods for getting myself out of a funk. And it’s important that you find your own ways. And most importantly you use them when you feel depression coming on. Don’t let it get so bad that your usual methods don’t work too well.
Depression kills production and dampens your spirits. Learn to recognize it and deal with it quickly.
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4 Responses to “What May be Causing Your Lack of Productivity Without You Even Knowing It”
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August 19th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Great advice my friend.
One thing that always works for me is running. Though I hate running…it gets the old body moving, the blood pumping and no matter how depressed and unproductive I feel….I always come back refreshed and more centered.
Ripple On!!!
Steve
August 20th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Running is a great activity. I find doing some sort of physical activity can calm the mind. I have always been fascinated by the relationship between the mind and body. Perhaps I will start a new category for my philosophical thoughts on the mind-body relation, free will, and the like.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:54 am
Well, Seuseungnim says it all, buddy. You know it.
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