The Productivity Trap

Stuck in the spin cycle

Have you been struggling to be as productive as you want to be? Do you feel your contribution and output at work is less than you expect of yourself? Have you been in a slump and no matter what you’ve tried, you just can’t climb back up again?

It wasn’t very long ago when my own productivity, both at work and in my personal life, wasn’t where I wanted it to be. I get that you believe you could be doing more, achieving more, being more. And it’s really frustrating! How many years have you been stuck in that same spin cycle of life discontent?

The good news is that you’re not alone. I hear this all the time from the people I work with; people just like you who want more from their lives but feel there’s some kind of invisible force that sends them back to the beginning every time they ‘almost’ get to the next stage. 

But before we get to how you can start to overcome that invisible force, let’s remind ourselves of some of the reasons why you might not be as productive as you believe you should be.

Inhibiting Productivity

• Poor time management:
  • When you are disorganised and always rushing about, you inevitably start squeezing things in. There are fine margins for error, so if something doesn’t quite go according to plan, you fall behind very quickly. This can lead to more frustration, high stress and mood changes. Often, it’s your family that suffers despite the fact that you are squeezing  things in so you can do more for them. Oh, the irony!
    
    
• Lack of focus:
  • There are so many things that can distract us in this era of ‘digital everything’ that it’s very easy to get lost in the noise. Ping, ping, ping – “oh, that’s interesting…”. Being connected is fantastic a lot of the time, but when you need to be focused and on it, being connected can be the worst thing ever.
    
    But it’s not just the constant alerts from your phone, tablet and computer that are distracting you. Many of us work from home so we have spouses, pets and children that may not fully understand that working from home is… actually working. Then there’s your nervous system.
    
    You probably don’t realise it, but your brain and nervous system are scanning everything all of the time: both externally around you and internally within you. If you are in pain or there is some kind of external threat such as your working environment, this can cause you to become distracted and make it very difficult to concentrate.
    
    
• Poor work environment:
  • Uncomfortable or chaotic workspaces can create multiple threats for your brain, and can have a negative impact on your productivity.
    
    Physical clutter, noise and lighting can all influence how you approach your work and personal life. Reduced energy, lack of concentration and impaired creativity all impact your ability to achieve what you believe to be possible.
    
    
• Negative mindset:
  • Self-doubt, fear of failure, low self-worth – all these things have a tremendous impact on your ability to perform. They can rob you of the energy you need to be at your best and can be very effective at stalling you in that never ending cycle of getting so far only to be flung back to the beginning – fuelling disappointment and frustration in a downward spiral.
    
    
• Health issues:
  • Aches, pains, niggles, chronic illness, chronic fatigue, constant discomfort – all of these can present insurmountable barriers to you achieving your goals. You may feel like you are drained, exhausted and ready to just throw it all away and give up completely.
    
    There are some health issues that are far more challenging than others, but there are also plenty more where seemingly simple solutions can have far reaching and life-changing positive impacts on finally getting you through those pain barriers.
    

Taking Action

So now that we have jogged your memory of, and perhaps opened your eyes to, the primary reasons why your productivity might be more of a source of frustration rather than a source of pride, it’s time to look at what you can do about it.

You won’t be surprised that for most of the above, there is a movement solution. Afterall, I am a movement specialist. It’s what I do. It’s how I help individuals and organisations improve all of the above and transform their productivity and decision making.

Now, movement may not be what comes to mind first for you – especially when looking for a solution to time management challenges – but everything you are and everything you do is influenced by your nervous system. All of the above productivity inhibitors can be amplified, or caused by, poor movement quality. 

For example, how you see and organise time is impacted by your brain function. There are specific areas that deal with this, in the same way that there are areas that deal with motor control, accuracy, coordination, anxiety, depression and so on. Your thoughts, emotions and actions are all influenced by your brain. And while there are specific brain structures that have more involvement than others, most of our experiences are whole-brain. So to bust the myth that you only use a fraction of your brain… you do in fact use 100% of your brain almost all of the time. If you improve your movement quality, many of the other outputs also improve.

Over the next few articles, you are going to discover how you can use this to your advantage to improve your productivity and decision making. You will finally be able to break through that invisible force and fade your life discontent and start living the way you really want to. You’ll have more energy, better insights, and improved control over your emotions. All of this will lead to you being the more productive version of yourself that you want to transform into.

Next time we are going to look at the first pillar of the system I’ve put together: clearing up your Brain-Body Maps.