With such a focus these days on productivity, and pressure to get as much done as possible, trying to cram everything in can sometimes lead to feelings of overwhelm and anxiety. True productivity should actually do the opposite and create more pockets of time to do the fun stuff and relax, but how do you strike a balance?
We thought we’d explore this subject more deeply to help you be more zen and less fraught!
When does a need for productivity become stressful?
When done correctly, productivity is great because you’re getting more done in less time and should therefore have time for the things which you enjoy. However, if a need for productivity is coupled with a drive to maximise activity, whether it’s self-inflicted or your boss is laying on the pressure, then it can lead to overwhelm.
We often overcommit, and some people develop an inner urgency, a need to always be busy. This can lead to stress which manifests itself as anxiety, depression or lifestyle factors such as insomnia.
How can you prevent burnout?
We asked Karin Stephan of Earkick, a specialist in measuring mental wellbeing at work, why workers can feel burned out and overwhelmed, leading to mental health issues.
Karin said “We talk about stress as if it’s bad, but according to research by Gallup it isn’t necessarily the number of hours worked that lead to burnout and other mental health issues. What matters is to be ‘on’ when we truly need to be ‘on’ and to really be ‘off’ when we need to be ‘off’.
“We find ourselves distracted when we should be focused on being productive and we start putting pressure on ourselves and developing unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, when it’s time to go ‘off’, we find ourselves checking our mobile phone, checking Slack, email – and we’re not really present for the things we wanted to do while off work and recovering.
“On top of that, we feel guilty when doing self-care, self-maintenance, or doing nothing of importance. As long as we’re not very intentional about our work and about our recovery, we will face mental health challenges in the long term and our productivity will suffer substantially. Top athletes are only able to maintain their level of productivity because they know how to be 100% present during performance time and 100% recovering when it’s time to build strength.”
How can you reduce overwhelm caused by your to-do list?
Much as we love a to-do list, sometimes they can be too full and lead to anxiety. Jenni Brown of Lyrical Host recommends taking the emotion out of your it. “So many people beat themselves up about not completing their list, or being chained to it, or associating it with failure and stress. Keeping it neutral and not having any emotions tied to it just means you’re freeing yourself to roll it over to another day without any attachment.”
This is great advice, and having time to step back and review what you actually NEED to get done today versus what you WANT to get done can really help. Often we set ourselves unrealistic deadlines for tasks and it doesn’t actually matter if they don’t get done when originally planned.
Why is downtime so important?
What’s interesting is that the most productive people build plenty of breaks in their day. This really is working smarter, not harder, something which we hold dear at Solvaa. In fact, the key to top performance is rest, according to this article, so as well as getting enough sleep at night we must also include some kick-back time during the day.
And according to Forbes, ‘boredom’ (or downtime) can stimulate creativity and increase productivity. Have you ever had your best ideas while out for a run? Your overloaded brain needs to relax, and how many times have you been told to have a break from social media? That too will reduce a sense of overwhelm from the never-ending scrolling of Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
How can you practise self-care?
It’s vital that you aren’t productive and busy for every moment of the day, or even every day. As Karin says, you must build in ‘off’ moments during the day.
What you do in your ‘off’ time is up to you, but exercise can play a significant role in improving mental health. Journalling is great too, as a safe space to write down your negative thoughts and feelings, which helps release them. Meditating is great for reducing stress and anxiety and the Calm app has plenty of free guided options. If you’ve always thought meditation is a bit too ‘woo’ for you then think again, as it can be as simple as laying down (or sitting) in a quiet place to focus on breathing and your body.
Self-care also includes drinking plenty of water, reading, treating yourself to a manicure and unfollowing negative people on social media. Never underestimate the power of a hug either, which releases oxytocin, the love hormone. There are many benefits of hugging, including better sleep, improved immunity and better cardiovascular health. It’s extraordinary how that human contact can positively affect you, and it’s often the simplest things which are most effective.
Zapier recently wrote about how to set mental health boundaries, with some great tips which include only taking on new clients that are the right fit and setting boundaries around your work/life balance.
How to maximise productivity without overwhelm
When working, it’s vital that you have good practices in place in order to be productive. Being organised reduces stress as well as streamlines your day. Much as we love automation at Solvaa, we always emphasise the need to review and simplify processes before even thinking about automating them.
We recommend avoiding over-complicating things as doing so will make tasks easier to manage. Having defined and documented processes make the work quicker and less stressful to do. Not only that, everything will be more consistent and you’ll be less likely to make a mistake.
If you’d like to use some of your downtime for self-help reading then we can recommend 6 excellent productivity books which are perfect for overwhelmed business owners.
We would also highly recommend downloading our free e-book The Essential Guide To Business Productivity to find out more about how to work smarter, not harder!
Solvaa: Strategy, Solutions, Support, Education
UK-based SolvaaÂŽ is a systems, process and automation consultancy specialising in improving business workflows. SolvaaÂŽ works with SMEs worldwide to implement digital tools, better processes, use business process automation and generative AI to boost productivity, enhance lead management, and remove unnecessary time, costs and hassles from stretched business ownersâ days.
We help you simplify and streamline existing processes, integrate your business tools to make data transfer more efficient, and automate manual tasks. Our business process automation specialists have extensive experience using multiple cloud-based business tools, including Zapier, Pipedrive CRM, SmartSuite, Xero, Google Suite, ClickUp, Asana, Airtable, Hubspot, Active Campaign, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Quickbooks and many more. We are Zapier Certified Experts, SmartSuite Certified Partners, Pipedrive Certified Partners and Xero Certified Advisors. We also educate teams about using AI in their daily roles, mindset, governance and strategy in our Solvaa AI Academy.
SolvaaÂŽ was founded in 2016 by Kelly Goss, a no-code solutions architect, business process automation specialist and author of Automate It with Zapier (first edition) and Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI (second edition).
A thought leader on business process automation and digital adoption, Kelly attended an invite-only Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the UK government at No.10 Downing Street, providing insights and recommendations on how SMEs can benefit from productivity gains by using digital technologies, automation and AI. She has also been invited to speak at the House of Lords and at many other events.
Contact us today to find out how Solvaa can help your business make big savings on operational costs and time, and significantly increase productivity.
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