Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
I know I am among those who champion consistency and being productive. I want to set the record straight between “work”, “busyness” and “productivity”.
Work is activity you do that helps you accomplish a task or set of objectives. It is an action or set of actions you take towards your goal.
Busyness is a state of being CONSTANTLY engrossed in some form of activity or the other, that it leaves you no time to rest, recharge and focus on other things like your personal life, mindfulness and even time to read. It is not the same as productivity.
Being productive is doing EFFECTIVE work that produces results. It has nothing to do with the amount of time you put into work.
Most thought leaders you see who produce amazing content (both free and paid), and maintain a sense of “Omnipresence” on their platform, are not the busiest people on the planet.
We are simply very good at being productive with the time we spend doing the work that produces such results.
I’ll use myself as an example.
I only “work” for 4 hours a day productively. I know my body’s rhythm and so I know when I am most productive. For me, I cannot do productive, focused work, for more than 4 hours a day on average.
Now, there are times when I can go for up to 12 hours straight when I’m in the zone, but that is not my normal day. When I do longer periods of productive work, it is mostly because I’ve primed myself beforehand, using focus-building activities that work for me.
For me, they include taking time to rest beforehand, doing something fun, like seeing a movie I like or people-watching, watching YouTube videos where I laugh endlessly, taking a hot and cold shower simultaneously, and listening to a particular kind of music.
Then I pray and worship, meditate and practice breathing techniques that pump oxygen to my brain. While these activities work for me, they may not necessarily work for you. You have to find what works for you by trying any and everything.
Once I’ve done these, getting into my zone of genius for long periods of time becomes automatic.
Now, there are people who can do productive work for longer hours or lesser. If you’re such, then that’s wonderful.
Be sure to maximize that productive time to do work that actually helps your business grow. Use that time to focus on deep work, like creating, writing, recording and teaching.
If you find yourself unable to focus and you’re getting easily distracted, don’t force it. Genius work never came from scattered focus.
Get up, go do something else and deliberately get yourself back into your zone of genius. Then when you’re back in the zone, you can continue the work. Never ever feel guilty for resting or pausing.
Also learn the art of Self Care. Learn to understand your body and listen when it is speaking to you. If you’re falling sick or you’re exhausted, don’t try to push your body beyond its limits.
You must take your health seriously. Be mindful about what you eat and drink. Always hydrate and get enough rest and sleep.
Stay away from social media for some time. You don’t have to be on your phone everyday. Curate your social media feed so that you only see things that are uplifting.
Unfollow news channels, gossip blogs and people whose lifestyles make you feel under pressure, whether they are your friends or not.
If you don’t want to unfollow, you can mute their posts and stories on Instagram. Be mindful of the things you look at, be it in your immediate environment, on TV, or on social media.
Avoid getting into unnecessary (and even necessary) arguments with people on social media. Also guard what you listen to. Be mindful of the kind of music and podcasts you listen to. Your unconscious stores EVERYTHING.
Finally, protect your energy. We are all made up of matter. Remember in science we were taught that matter is anything that has weight and occupies space.
We were also taught that all matter vibrates. Even though you may not notice or realize it, we are all in a constant state of vibration. We all vibrate at different frequencies.
The higher your level of vibration, the more productive, active, result-oriented, aware, intelligent you become and the more you have access to your level of genius and all that is stored in your unconscious. You vibrate higher when you are happy, healthy and at peace.
NOTE: Mind you, I did not mention wealth as a determinant of vibrational levels. Wealthier people do not vibrate more than less wealthy people.
When you are sick, tired, sad and at war with yourself and people around you, you vibrate lower. Even the food you eat, the things you drink and the things you watch and hear (especially music and information), affect your level of vibration. Unhealthy food will lead to lower vibration, and vice versa if you eat healthy food.
You must also learn to be aware of people’s vibrational energy. Stay away from people with lower frequencies of vibration if you’re not strong enough to raise theirs to your level. People with lower vibrations are the energy drainers.
These are people who leave you drained and exhausted after coming in contact with you and you don’t know why. They lower your own vibration and now you don’t feel good.
It takes a lot of self awareness to be able to read your level of vibration and others as well. This is a skill all leaders and especially speakers and teachers need to learn.
(Recommended books for further study: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, Connected to Goodness by David Meltzer, The Power of Awakening by Dr. Wayne Dyer).
Above all, guard your mind because out of it flows issues of life. Know when to pause when your body needs time to recharge and recuperate, and then come back to your work with full focus and absolute productivity.
