I Want To Be Productive, Now What?!

“It’s Okay to Not be at your Most Productive during a FUCKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC”

I posted this quote on my Instagram the second I saw it pop up in my feed, because well there was almost nothing I had seen that related to EXACTLY how I have been feeling lately quite like this, and the responses I received  after posting it from anyone following me clarified that there are a lot of people who are also feeling the exact same way, during this period of social isolation.

A FUCKING Global Pandemic

So, elephant in the room- you know just the GLOBAL PANDEMIC named CORONA, that has left us all in what feels like the weird place between Christmas and New Years with no end in sight.

While I like to joke that my phone is my “career” when explaining my daily data usage to friends and family, and when my numbers really spike- well simply that’s just “overtime” for me LOL. Well anyways, this is what is happening to people all across the world, they too are increasing their daily social media “usage”.

Okay, so were home more, well WAY MORE, like actually not even leaving home LOL- not funny but funny. OKAY SO social media usage is DEFINITELY increased for everyone, I mean, GUILTY AS CHARGED.

Although social media was a way of life before, now with increased times due to not having a commute into work, and with sports, restaurants, and well life all being cancelled -social media is the one thing we still have from our old lives and we are using it more than ever in order to be able to stay connected.

While yes there can be so much positive with social media (using to stay in touch with friends/family/co-workers, etc) it can also take a very negative toll on us and personally I try to make a conscious effort to remain mindful of that when engaging in social media and would encourage all of you to as well!

 

Unprecedented Times

    “The Only Person You Should Try to Be Better Than Is Who You Were Yesterday.”

Okay so yeah, we are all on social media- and yes it’s a wonderful place to be able to stay connected with friends and family, however it’s also a place where we easily can fall into a comparison trap, where consciously or subconsciously we are comparing our every move to the lives of those who some we barely know.

**Please always try to remember on social media you are seeing what they want you to see, someone’s “highlight reel” so to speak. **

Let us first remind ourselves, that no two lives our worthy of comparison, because we are all on different paths- “different strokes for different folks”. Stop trying to fit your life into by an outdated timeline, create the path you so choice.

Anyways, what I have noticed is that through social media a lot of people are taking to it to show the amazing meals they are making, or the intense work out classes they are taking or hey maybe they decided to take an online class for something they didn’t have the time for normally, in addition to their work load.

For parents, we are seeing people setting up at home “DIY” hibachi food stations, or extravagant forts or games for their kids, all while the parents are expected to homeschool and while many of them are still working full time.

For many people, they used workout classes and the gym as a form of socialization or escape, and now they must learn how to work out at home, which is not easy.

For many they are not so crafty(me lol!), and maybe they can’t make the games or forts they see on social media for their kids, or maybe their workload is too heavy for them to be able to do so.

Whether you are able to do more or just get by- either way is OKAY!

For many people, they are out of work, and they go to social media to see people talking about how busy their work- day is and this can make them feel like they to aren’t productive enough, when really everyone is doing the best they can.

The increased usage of social media combined with the already complicated emotions we are dealing with mentally as we adjust to this “new normal” can create anxiety and uncertainty for many people during this time.

*Disclaimer* This is not to say don’t post ( I mean have you followed me lol, I post everything), because I love seeing the creativity people are using during this time, and it can help people, its more to be aware of what may trigger your anxieties when viewing, and also to remind people not to compare and to just do the best YOU CAN DO.

Anyways, being flooded with images and videos of how other people are utilizing their time during quarantine while its great suggestions and ideas and a way to connect, for many this can also make them feel like they are not doing enough with their time, which can trigger feelings of not being enough or anxiety.

Anxiety, Anxiety, Anxiety

As an anxiety ridden human, I have been on a non- stop journey these past few years to truly work on myself on a spiritual level, all while working to be able to better process and manage my anxiety. What I like to do is to journal about my day at the end of the day, as a way to vent and unwind. Other benefits of journaling are it allows me to track exactly what I ate and drank and what I did that day.

For example, on high anxiety days I am able to track if I ate or drank something that maybe has historically triggered anxiety, such as coffee or I can track on high anxiety days If I exercised. I am also able to look at the events that occurred over the course of that day to see if certain situations trigger anxiety more than others.

What I became increasingly aware of was that on days where I felt like I either didn’t give it my all, or that overall I wasn’t as productive as I know I can be, those were the days that left me the most anxious. This was a pattern I was noticing pre quarantine, so I’m sure you can assume that during quarantine this is even more amplified, and for a lot of us.

Early Bird Gets the Worm

Okay well what if you hate the f**cking morning? Okay so something that has always made me feel “insecure” is that well, I’m not a morning person. So you can imagine how an anxiety ridden human like myself, how when I awake and see that someone has already worked out, made breakfast, gotten themselves together and done like an hour of work already- YES this makes me anxious and quickly I start being hard on myself and judging myself for how “unproductive” I have been that morning, before my day has even begun.

Yet another way society has formulated an idea into our heads about what it takes to be a productive and successful person in life- the idea that “the early bird gets the worm”.  It reminds me of that meme about when dads wake up early on vacation, and all they can talk about the whole day is how much they got done while everyone was being lazy and asleep LOL.

Let’s not go off on a tangent here, the moral of this run on paragraph is that hey in a world that teaches us we should be a morning person- if you’re a night owl and that is when you get your most work done- so freaking what!?!?

Stop letting what you see influence your uniqueness or your ability to be creative and productive or just because you do something another way, don’t get stressed out and think you are not being productive.

Also if the stars don’t seem to be aligning that particular day, or week or month for that matter, it’s all about being the best VERSION of YOU that day, just give the best you can and that is all that matters.

Often on days where I am not as productive as I would like to be because of well anxiety or life factors (IDK maybe the distraction of a global pandemic) as long as I know I did the best I could that DAY, usually I sleep well at night.

 

Peace in the Pandemic

Trying to find a reason behind for lack of better words, a “Global Pandemic” or a “time of severe hardship” well this can be extremely challenging. While I will not pretend to make sense of what is going on in the world, what I have tried to find is a silver lining in all of this, for my own sanity. I to wish this was not happening but finding a silver lining, has helped me.

For me at points I have found a certain type of solace or peace in the fact, that maybe this is the universe way of telling us all we were moving WAY TO FAST, and not appreciating the little things in life, such as a basic freedoms of just being able to hang out with a friend. For me I am trying to take this approach, and it has helped my mentality during this time, therefore I wanted to share.

I have been using this time to really try to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of the real world, and to reflect on the type of person I want to be when this is all done. I have pondered my brain and challenge you all to do the same.

Here are some of the daily questions I ask myself.

 How can you make a difference in the world for the better?

 How can you be better than before?

What in life have I allowed to consume me with anxiety, that I realized isn’t all that important?

Am I prioritizing self- care?

Are you allowing yourself to have a “bad day”?

How can you be blonde without dying your hair?

Okay… only kidding with the last one but HOPEFULLY we will never experience this type of pandemic in our lifetimes again, therefore because this is out of our control, in order to stay sane mentally I would highly encourage trying to flip your mindset by focusing on taking a step back and diving deep into your inner “self” to try to restore the peace you may have lost in the hustle and bustle of “the real world”.

 

The Productivity Parade

I was talking to my cousin Molly and one of my best friends Ana the other day about life and on that particular day, I was having a bad day. I think it was a middle of the week- and I was plagued with anxiety, low energy and overall loss of creativity, I was HAVING A DAY, and allowed myself to take a step back to have it.

As someone who is self- employed, I am 100% accountable for my workload. With that there is benefits- for example creating my own schedule, but I  am also plagued with anxiety on those “bad days” when I see others being so seemingly productive where I just “need a day”.

I asked Molly and Ana if they ever just have a day where they lay around and if they feel guilty about it- because well I was feeling so sluggish, sloth- like and overall disappointed that I couldn’t be my “normal” or good version of myself that day. I felt guilty for succumbing to my anxieties.

Both of them responded in a similar manner, saying that self -care and prioritizing yourself is the only way you can be a productive member of society. Essentially the analogy of “put your oxygen mask on first, before trying to save someone else.”

What the conversation really divulged into was, that if we do not prioritize our own self- care, and continue to work on ourselves each day- as our #1 investment, then we truly cannot be the friend, co- worker, family member or member of society that is 100% at their best potential.

So in conclusion, yes if you need a DAY take that day to clear your head.

On those really good days- be really productive to account for the days where you can’t be at your most productive.

 On those bad days, just be the BEST possible version that you can be that day, and I promise that you will learn to appreciate yourself and love yourself much more, when you learn to work with yourself, not against yourself.

 

And End Scene

Something that is so crucial in your development to connecting your “inner spiritual self” is working on your “self- talk” to yourself, both subconsciously and consciously.

I will go into a deeper blog, in the next few weeks on self -talk, but essentially this is the way that you speak to yourself, and about yourself- (subconsciously and consciously). It is also how you think about yourself, subconsciously and consciously.

While sometimes we may feel unaware of how we are thinking and speaking of ourselves, it’s important to start to listen to what you say to yourself, because whether you realize it or not, you will internalize those feelings and they will then start to dictate your life.

On one last tip, I encourage all of you to start keeping a journal (I will continue to say it) in order to be able to write about your day. It’s a great way to rant about what went wrong, and to also recap why you felt a certain way that day. It also gives you an insight into that subconscious and conscious self -talk.

Always end your journal entries with gratitude posts and affirmations for things that you feel grateful for that day, and some days maybe you can only squeeze one thing out- just try. I can almost promise you that even on the worst of days if somehow you are able to squeeze out just one thing you are grateful for, that will already put your life into a better perspective, and allow for a much more peaceful sleep.

Lastly, I also encourage everyone to keep a daily planner, and so what if your calendar isn’t as filled during quarantine, keep it anyway. This allows us to maintain a sense of routine and structure, all while being able to keep on task. I always review my planner the night before in order to prepare for the next day. This has helped me greatly!

 

Key Take- Aways

• You are allowed to not be productive during a global fucking pandemic
• It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
• Do not compare yourself, “Different Strokes for Different Folks”
• Social Media is people putting out what they want you to see, not always their reality
• You can use this time to find peace in life
• Just be the best version of YOU that you can be that day
• Don’t try to be anyone else, only you were made to do the job of being yourself
• One Day at a time

I know we are all experiencing extreme emotions during this global pandemic, leaving us scared, bored, nostalgic, angry, anxious, depressed,  feeling unworthy or unproductive… just to name a few…. But this too shall pass.

I am sending Good Vibes to everyone, but especially to those who need it a little more today.

You are all doing great, and you are all so uniquely yourself, keep on keeping on.

Vibes
Xo,