Are productivity and self-care mutually exclusive? How can they feed each other and even operate together?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Grace Beverley, productivity and self-care can work together in supportive cycles. She shares four strategies that will help you be more efficient, thereby freeing up time for self-care<\/a>. In turn, this energizes you to get more done. She also shows how you can engage in self-care while working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep reading to get these valuable strategies that can transform the way you work and live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll explore four of Grace Beverley\u2019s productivity and self-care strategies: <\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: The strategies Beverley proposes for overcoming overwork and burnout are specifically strategies for individuals<\/em> to implement. By contrast, others argue that it\u2019s primarily the responsibility of employers and organizations<\/em><\/a> to solve the problems of overwork and burnout. It\u2019s arguably in their best interests to do so, as employee burnout leads to issues that harm companies and organizations, such as high turnover. Experts recommend that leaders implement strategies such as allocating job responsibilities more fairly<\/a>, reducing employee overtime<\/a>, and offering a four-day workweek<\/a>.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beverley says you can engage in self-care while <\/em>working by making your work more enjoyable. <\/strong>That way, your time spent working productively won\u2019t be depleting\u2014instead, the joy you get from working will energize and satisfy you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore three of Beverley\u2019s tips for making your work more enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, Beverley recommends ensuring that your workday involves many satisfying tasks <\/strong>(what she calls \u201cmicro-passions\u201d). When you fill every day with multiple satisfying tasks, those days amount to a satisfying life<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To implement this tip, make a list of work-related tasks you find satisfying. Then, make a plan to incorporate more of those tasks into your typical workday. Beverley notes that this may require making large changes, such as asking your boss for additional (or different) responsibilities or pursuing professional development that will improve your skills<\/a>. If those changes aren\u2019t possible, it could be a sign that you should switch roles or careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, imagine you\u2019re a teacher who enjoys the tasks of supporting your colleagues and learning new teaching techniques. You could ask your boss if you can start mentoring new teachers, or you could seek out professional development opportunities that will expand your teaching skills. If these changes aren\u2019t possible, consider switching to a role in which these satisfying tasks feature prominently, such as becoming an instructional coach (a teacher of teachers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, Beverley argues that we find work more satisfying when we complete tasks<\/a> in an original <\/em>way. <\/strong>She explains that when we leverage our unique strengths to create original work, the result is more valuable because someone else can\u2019t easily replicate it. Feeling valuable in this way gives us joy and satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can you make your work original? Beverley says to engage in warm-ups (what she calls \u201ccreative triggers\u201d) that will inspire you to think outside the box <\/strong>before you complete work tasks. Warm-ups she recommends include drawing something relevant to your work task, listening to a podcast on a related topic, and brainstorming<\/a> relevant ideas with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, say you\u2019re a musician who posts lessons about musical concepts on YouTube. You begin one workday by doodling on paper while listening to a song you want to teach. This warm-up gives you the idea to represent the song visually in your video for it, using rising lines to represent ascending melodies, falling lines to indicate descending ones, and wavy lines to show vibrato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beverley offers a third tip for making your workdays more enjoyable: experience flow.<\/em><\/strong> She explains that, according to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow is a state in which you\u2019re deeply absorbed in a task. Beverley says that flow makes productivity a form of self-care because the feeling of being engrossed in a task is joyful and satisfying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Csikszentmihalyi, you experience flow<\/a> when you\u2019re engaged in a task in which your skill level matches the level of challenge you feel.<\/strong> If you\u2019re not experiencing flow because a task is too easy, you can enter flow by making the task more challenging. If you\u2019re unable to access flow because a task is too difficult, improve your skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beverley advises that it\u2019s easiest to enter flow states<\/a> when working on tasks that are already conducive to flow. Start by identifying tasks that have put you into a state of flow<\/a> before.Think of instances in which you felt completely engaged in a work task, such as moments when you lost track of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, instead of waiting for flow to happen when you engage in these tasks, purposefully initiate flow.<\/strong> Engage in a brief warm-up activity (Beverley calls these \u201cflow triggers\u201d) that inspires you to work on the tasks you identified. For instance, say you\u2019re a graphic designer who has experienced flow in the past when sketching logo ideas. You could initiate flow by looking at pictures of your favorite logos for inspiration before designing your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making tasks more enjoyable isn\u2019t the only way to engage in self-care while working; Beverley says you can also attend to your needs (physical and otherwise).<\/strong> We\u2019ll focus on Beverley\u2019s advice for taking care of your needs while you\u2019re in a state of flow, specifically. Even though flow is an enjoyable state, Beverley warns that it can lead to overwork. <\/strong>Let\u2019s explore two of Beverley\u2019s tips for avoiding this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re experiencing flow, you might be so absorbed in a task that you forget to take care of yourself. Therefore, before starting a task that\u2019ll get you into flow, prepare to meet your physical needs.<\/strong> For instance, fill your water bottle in advance and make sure your workspace is comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, if you spend too<\/em> much time in flow, you\u2019ll become mentally and physically exhausted\u2014Beverley calls this \u201coverflow.\u201d Therefore, set a time limit for your flow session in advance.<\/strong> Enforce this limit by ensuring you\u2019ll know to stop when that time is up\u2014for example, set up a desktop notification to remind you when your flow period has ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, we\u2019ve explored how to integrate self-care and productivity<\/a> by bringing self-care time into your work time. However, Beverley also says it\u2019s important to engage in pure self-care outside of<\/em> productivity time <\/strong>so you can regularly experience the benefits of work-free leisure. <\/strong>Remind yourself that self-care-only time still supports your productivity<\/strong> by leaving you feeling rejuvenated and ready to be productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore two of Beverley\u2019s tips for engaging in self-care-only time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beverley argues that there isn\u2019t a single set of self-care activities that work for everyone<\/em>, since we all have different needs and interests. Therefore, take time to experiment with various self-care activities. <\/strong>First, try out any activities that could be considered self-care\u2014anything that feels good and could therefore leave you rejuvenated, such as playing a board game or photographing your pet. Keep a record of which activities have the most positive impact on your mental health and productivity. Then, make those your go-to self-care activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beverley says we typically only engage in self-care-only activities in reaction<\/em> to symptoms of burnout (such as exhaustion). This self-care doesn\u2019t prevent burnout<\/a>, however\u2014it just manages its symptoms. Fortunately, Beverley says you can prevent<\/em> burnout and its symptoms by proactively scheduling self-care-only time and protecting that time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, say you find reading romance novels rejuvenating. Commit to spending every Saturday morning reading romance novels for two hours, and protect this self-care time by doing your chores beforehand and turning down any social invitations that conflict with this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making time for self-care is possible only if you use your work time productively. When you work effectively and efficiently, you can work fewer hours, leaving more time for self-care.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore three of Beverley\u2019s tips for using your work time productively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A conventional to-do list<\/a> includes a lineup of tasks you must complete, whether they\u2019re in order of importance or not. Beverley argues that to-do lists aren\u2019t conducive to productivity because they fail to prioritize<\/em> tasks. <\/strong>For instance, they might place unimportant tasks or tasks with far-off deadlines higher on the list than tasks that are important and time-sensitive. As a result, you waste your time on unimportant tasks and work more hours than you need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beverley recommends the Eisenhower Method<\/a> (EM) as a replacement for the traditional to-do list. The EM has you assess how crucial and pressing your tasks are so you can decide which to prioritize, which to delegate to others, and which to skip. <\/strong>Crucial tasks <\/em>are important to complete at some point to achieve your long-term goals, while pressing tasks<\/em> have upcoming deadlines. To implement the EM, follow these four steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, complete crucial and<\/em> pressing tasks. <\/strong>For example, if you\u2019re a journalist, work first on a labor-intensive article with an impending deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, complete tasks that are crucial but not pressing. <\/strong>For instance, work on a large article that\u2019s due in several weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Third, assign unimportant but pressing tasks to others. <\/strong>This will prevent you from working extra hours to complete these tasks. For example, if you\u2019ll be leaving for vacation soon and it would be nice (both not necessary) to put an automatic vacation responder on your email, ask your assistant to draft it and set it up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, <\/strong>skip tasks that are both unimportant and not pressing\u2014doing so will cut down on how many hours you have to work, leaving more time for self-care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve determined what tasks you must complete and in what order, ensure you work efficiently and effectively on those tasks by doing deep work<\/em>. <\/strong>Beverley explains that, according to Cal Newport (Deep Work<\/em><\/a>), who wrote a book about this concept, deep work is devoting focused, uninterrupted attention to a cognitively demanding task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To engage in deep work, Beverley advises building long periods of work time into your schedule. <\/strong>She says it\u2019s easier to engage in deep work when you focus for blocks of one to one and a half hours, with breaks in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s valuable to build schedules and routines that support flow, prioritization, and deep work, Beverley provides the caveat that it\u2019s important to recognize when your brain and body are simply incapable of productivity. <\/strong>These aren\u2019t situations where you stop working simply because you want<\/em> to\u2014they\u2019re situations when you need <\/em>to stop working because you\u2019re physically and\/or mentally incapable of working productively (or even at all). For example, perhaps your partner suddenly broke up with you and you\u2019re too sad and exhausted to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In cases when you need<\/em> to stop working or take a long break, Beverley urges you to be kind to yourself<\/a>. <\/strong>Don\u2019t shame yourself for being less capable than usual and needing to engage in necessary self-care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this exercise, you\u2019ll make a plan for applying Beverley\u2019s four strategies to your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGrace Beverley on Productivity & Self-Care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Strategy 1: Make Work More Enjoyable<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Incorporate Satisfying Tasks Into Your Workday<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Make Your Work Original<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 3: Set Yourself Up to Experience Flow<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Strategy 2: Meet Your Needs While You\u2019re in Flow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Prepare to Meet Your Physical Needs<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Decide in Advance How Long to Spend in Flow<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Strategy 3: Engage in Self-Care-Only Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Discover What Self-Care Means to You<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Schedule Self-Care-Only Time Before <\/em>You Burn Out<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Strategy 4: Use Your Work Time Wisely<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Ditch the To-Do List for the Eisenhower Method<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Engage in Deep Work<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tip 3: Know When To Scrap Your Plans<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Exercise: Improve Your Self-Care and Productivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n