I think it’s pretty safe to say that most days, we do whatever we can do accomplish the most we can before our heads hit the pillow. I know I do. It seems like my to-do list is never-ending, and every day is a game to see what I can do & when, and where I can multitask. Some days I’m great at it, others, not so much. On the days where I don’t accomplish nearly as much as I want to, I feel defeated. Almost useless. I beat myself up about it and start thinking well, if I couldn’t even finish these things today, how am I going to get everything done tomorrow, PLUS the things I didn’t finish today? I must not be good enough.
My productivity obsession
I’m constantly busy. I’m running a business from home, and I’ve got two small children, so my days are packed. Some days, unexpected things pop up and it changes my whole plan for the day. I may only complete a small portion of what I had planned, or maybe even nothing at all. At the end of these days, that’s when the doubt and frustration set in.
I start thinking, why wasn’t I able to adjust my schedule and still accomplish everything I had planned? Could I have done better? Why didn’t I just do X instead of Y. What a waste of time!
I know it sounds extreme, but this is the narrative I play out in my head. And it’s not a good one. So just because I wasn’t able to cross every single item off of my to-do list, I’m worthless? Hardly. When I stop and think about it for a minute, that couldn’t be further from the truth. You know what is true? I am valuable. Invaluable, even. And you are too. Because lucky for you (and me!) – Your worth is not measured by your productivity.
A shift in perspective
So you didn’t complete your task list for the day – so what? Are you worthless because of this? Far from it. We are all so valuable, and we have so much to bring to the world outside the number of tasks that we can accomplish in one day. Remember – you are not defined by your to do list and what you cross off of it. This is something that I have to remind myself of all the time.
Maybe your kids woke up sick and you had to put everything aside to take care of them. That hardly counts as a wasted day. Ok, so maybe you didn’t get to the laundry that’s been piling up all week. But you know what you did today? Poured yourself into your kids. Spent time with them and gave them the attention they needed. You focused your energy where it was most needed.
It could even be something as simple as you having plans to clean your entire house that day, but you chose to spend 6 hours watching Netflix instead. Are you of any less value because your house isn’t clean and you just binged the entire series of Queer Eye? NO WAY! In my opinion I’d say that watching Queer Eye is MUCH more productive than cleaning – but that’s just me.
Sure, you had certain plans for the day, but the universe had other plans. Maybe it’s intention was to show you just how important you are. To show just how much value you bring to those around you, even when you don’t contribute in the way you thought you needed to. Maybe this was it’s way of telling you that you need to slow down and take a bit of time for yourself.
The next time you want to give yourself a hard time about having an “unproductive” day, just remember, you are (in)valuable because of who you are, not what you can do.
What is your value? Are you considerate? Empathetic? Loving? Helpful? Encouraging? Are you all of these things? Focus on the type of person you are, and how you bring value to your life and the lives of others by simply being who you are. And then go watch Queer Eye.
If you’re looking for tips on creating a killer to do list, check out “How to write a proper to do list.”
**I have to say a big thank you to Stepstone Connect for creating such an awesome graphic to compliment this post. They are doing great, important work to support mental health – please go check them out and help spread their message.
