What is the cause that many are not productive enough?

Do you have problems with getting work done and questions about your productivity? Can we get a deeper view on productivity and rethink? I think every one of us experienced a time when we were highly productive and everything got finished effortlessly. Do you remember? Are you aware of the state of mind or better “being” you were in that time?

In this guest post, our friend Ryan Biddulph will share his story and experience that can help you to answer the questions about your productivity.

Thank you, Ryan

Have You Asked this Question About Your Productivity?

I worked in a shipping terminal as a security guard once.

Evenings consisted of staring at container numbers, running the numbers against numbers in the system, and printing a receipt to hand to truckers. I deemed myself a productive guard. Some days I processed the most trucks. But being productive made no difference to my happiness because I eventually asked myself the most important question about my productivity:

“Does being productive at this singular task increase my freedom, peace of mind, and happiness?”

I boosted my truck processing productivity to unheard-of levels on some days. But did processing a high volume of trucks increase my freedom? Did I establish peace of mind by handing 400 receipts to truckers during an 8 hour stretch from 4 PM to 12 AM? Did processing a high number of trucks make me happy?

Alas, freedom, peace, and happiness did not emanate from my being because I spent 8 hours daily processing trucks in a tiny booth amid choking fuel exhaust, raucous diesel engines, and sometimes surly truckers. Did I love sitting in a shipping terminal? I did not hate being a pier guard because the gig seemed quite easy. Comfort seduced me into believing an easy job was a good job.

However, assessing my productivity revealed doing a good job did not accelerate my freedom, increase my peace of mind or expand my happiness. I did a great job feeling bound, a bit chaotic in my mind, and unhappy. Does life seem like it should be a journey in feeling bound, frenzied, and unhappy? Employers may feel happy about your productivity, but how does the employee feel?

How do you feel about your job? How do you feel about devoting 80,000 hours of your life spanning 40 years being highly productive but depressed, bound, and frenzied? Does being highly productive feel good if your job feels bad to work?

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? – Henry David Thoreau

Humans do the odd thing of getting so busy with trying to be productive that they never stop to ask themselves if their productivity induces freedom, peace, and joy within.

I traded my pier guard productivity for blogging in Bali because the shipping terminal felt depressing, but Bali felt quite fun to explore and experience. Blogging from places like Fiji and Costa Rica increased my productivity because I chose to be free, peaceful, and happy BEFORE choosing to blog from the tropics.

First, choose freedom. Decide to cultivate the feeling of freedom in your being. From this predominant vibe of freedom, you make choices based on being free versus being bound. Plus, your productivity tends to skyrocket if you love what you are doing with your life because freedom, peace, and happiness induce a non-resistant state in your being. People produce prolifically being in a state non-resistant to ideas, work, inspired action, and generosity. 

Reassess your productivity.

Before sprinting like a headless chicken trying to get the job done productively, ask yourself if you love the job. Life is not meant to be simply doing a good job at something you hate. Life is fun, freedom, joy, sharing, and mindfulness. Also, life is no study in busy-ness, distraction, and aversion. Life is presence, intent, and attentiveness to hugging the moment.

Choose a job you love to work.

Pick a business fun to grow. Stop distracting yourself from being productive. Quit being aversive to how you genuinely feel about your job. Working harder does not make the depression go away. No one outfoxes their feelings. Working longer does not propel you from the soul-sucking profession. Facing your fears allows you to move on from the niche to a sector you feel passionate about.

“Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.” – Nathan W. Morris

No matter how many titles, medals or raises you get for being productive, you cannot fill the void of unhappiness within you. Observe the stunning number of high achievers saddled with depression, substance abuse problems, and alcoholism. Distracting yourself with doing a good job does not make the fear go away. Face your fears now, do what feels freeing, fun and joy-inducing, and start following your passion versus working harder at something you do not enjoy.

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Check out this eBook:

25 Tips to Develop Peace in Your Life

About the Author

Ryan Biddulph helps you become a thriving blogger at Blogging From Paradise.

See also Why Does Living Your Dreams Seem Hard For Most People?

and How A Cat Nap Helps To Be More Productive

What about you? Do you have a question about your productivity?