Why Productivity and Time Management Won't Let You Grow
Managing time…managing habits…managing to-do lists…managing progress…managing multiple projects…managing work with family.
Is this the only way to grow or are we busy managing the wrong things?
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Our goals and growth make up an integral part of our lives. Whether personal or professional, our goals help us remain oriented towards our purpose. But what is the right way to achieve a goal?
A lot of answers would revolve around time management, productivity and self-discipline. No doubt, they are all crucial for the process in their own capacity. But have these concepts blurred the lines of balance in our lives? And what have the consequences been? Let’s find out.
We are often told that life is short and there is a lot to achieve. There is a constant display of “hustle culture” and notions of productivity around us, all the time. This makes it easy to treat time as a very scarce resource. An enemy, even. So we keep trying to manage it. With timetables, buzzing alarms, overflowing to do lists, self help tools and whatnot.
But let’s stop for a moment and see what we’re actually promoting among ourselves nowadays.
Obsession with Productivity
And how it facilitates the slow poison of time management
Productivity, nowadays, is commonly measured in terms of accomplishments within a particular time frame. Hence, even some leisurely down time between work is considered as “wasting” time. What’s more, we have even started feeling guilty about breaking that random streak that made you feel “productive” or taking a long breather while being swamped with work.
Rewarding compulsive behaviors related to productivity such as extremely long hours at work, further fuels the problem. Being obsessed with work, without any consideration towards other life areas, is becoming fairly common. According to Dr Mark Griffiths, the prevalence of work addiction in the United State is around 10%, although he has mentioned some estimates as high as 15% to 25%.
And when obsession with productivity is reinforced so much, it becomes easier to try to utilize every minute of your time “doing something productive”. We are, thus, willing to try every whimsical hack and tool there is to boost productivity and manage our time. The ever-growing, multi-million dollar industry of self-help, time management and productivity is proof to this.
Why is this a cause of concern?
Years ago, professor Jeffrey Pfeffer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, conducted a study that revealed some alarming consequences of thinking about time in terms of money. The study involved a group of people who were driven to calculate the worth of every minute in terms of money versus people who focused on just completing a given task. The pay for both the groups was the same in the end.
After testing the subjects’ saliva in the end, researchers found that the people who focused on the economic value of time experienced 25% more stress than the other group. According to the researchers, a consistent 25% spike in stress levels over time can be detrimental to human health.
We all have, at some point, normalized pushing ourselves to the extreme to accomplish a goal because we think it’s the best thing to do. Which is perfectly okay. But focusing all our resources- our time, energy, physical resources- towards one goal in one area of our life, all the time, is impractical.
For anyone who has ever set a goal for themselves, knows that it has never been done in an isolated context. There are always going to be other things going on in other areas of our lives.
Which goes to prove that even if you invest all of it in that one goal, it cannot guarantee you joy. Fulfillment of the goal, yes. But joy, not really. Because you keep ignoring the needs of your mind, body and life. What often waits at the end for you, is exhaustion and burnout. Mental, physical and emotional.
So then, what’s the point of pursuing such behaviors when you’re actually just setting yourself up for failure?
So then, what’s the point of pursuing such behaviors when you’re actually just setting yourself up for failure? There has to be a better way to achieve our goals and not compromise our growth as an individual. You’re right, there is.
A simple concept that has been around for years, but hasn’t been understood in the right sense or utilized to its full potential: life management.
Life Management
Life management is the ongoing pursuit of finding and maintaining balance between living a purposeful life, fulfilling our own needs, and those of people and environment around us, while at the same time working towards realizing our best potential.
It is a process that allows you to be more aware of all the life areas important to you. So, any area you set a goal for, will be supplemented by the demands and joys of other life areas as well. Which also means you move a step closer to figuring out what a “balanced life” would be for you and how you can achieve it.
Make no mistake, it is not a one-time process that guarantees you all that you wanted at once. You would still have to invest your time and efforts in it, from time to time.
What it will do for you, is that it will enable you to assess your priorities better and how you can best allocate them. Because when you have a clear view of the bigger picture, you act more meaningfully and the results become more visible. It does require a considerate step-by-step process for the best results, but why let that come in the way of your growth?
Let Life by unClock handle the tedious part, while you focus on being your best self.
Life by unClock is a transformative life management tool that empowers you to take on your goals and ambition the way you want. A platform where age-old notions of balance combine with today’s revolutionary design. Together, they enable you to reclaim the joy of living while on your journey towards realizing your best self.
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