What’s your doable goal for the day?
If you’re finding it hard to stay productive during the lockdown, you can take heart in the fact that most of the world is feeling the same way. People who thought they’d be learning, reading, creating and bettering themselves are finding they barely have the energy to get through the day.
We’ve gone into the reasons for this — anxiety, stress, lack of stimulation, unbroken routines, or overstimulation from too much scrolling, and the impact of this on sleep cycles, are among the primary reasons.
“We’re experiencing mental fatigue because we’re constantly worrying about the pandemic and its impact,” says clinical psychologist Seema Hingorrany. “We end up feeling guilty for having ‘wasted’ the day and that causes demotivation that in turn interferes with our ability to stay productive.” Here are some ways to break this cycle. Rephrase problems as goals: Instead of focusing on what you’re unable to do, clearly state what you would like to accomplish. So, instead of saying “I’m unable to read”, try “I want to spend an hour reading today”. It can be the beginning of breaking a mental block. Verbalising also turns a neglected to-do into a positive goal.
Embrace fractional productivity: We tend to measure productivity in a binary fashion — we’re either doing a task and ‘productive’, or not doing a task and ‘failing’ at the day. Gangotri Naik, 31, a sales operations manager from Bengaluru, says she began to feel more motivated to stick to her goals during the lockdown after she began to view productivity along a spectrum.
“If I’m 30% productive, I acknowledge I’ve been 30% productive, instead of saying ‘I was unproductive today’. This motivates me to get more done.”
Reward yourself: It helps to give yourself a treat as soon as you complete a task you’d been putting off. That’s what Yash Nagpal, 27 a customer service manager in Mumbai, has been doing during the lockdown. “I work almost non-stop for five or six hours a day — either at my job, or doing tasks in the home, or attending online classes as part of my upskilling agenda,” he says. “After work, I binge-watching or chat with friends.”
Revisit your targets: Start small and set a timeframe. Weekly goals can feel more achievable. “It’s also important to be okay with inconsistency,” says Hingorrany. “So if you default on your diet or exercise plan for one day, just bounce back the next day.”
Run gratitude reality checks: “To give yourself a mood boost in these strange times, it can help to spend each morning listing at least five things you’re grateful for,” says clinical psychologist and therapist Husna Vanjara. “End the day by thinking about the best thing you did, felt or experienced, whether it was trying out a new recipe, helping a neighbour . This will give you something to feel positive about, and look forward to, every day.”
END THE DAY BY LISTING THINGS YOU ENJOYED, OR KIND DEEDS THAT MADE YOU FEEL GOOD