Dr Ottilia Brown is a clinical psychologist with The Lighthouse Arabia
Improving productivity is not about having more hours in the day or sleeping less or doing as many things as possible at the same time. It is more about learning how to disentangle your self-worth from your productivity and in so doing decrease the levels of anxiety you may be producing with on a daily basis.
It is also more about figuring out who you are and what you bring and how you can bring the best you to the table through authentic engagement. Let’s get stuck into the how:
Self-care
This includes everything that says, ‘I care about myself and I am worthy of taking care of myself’. Good quality and sufficient sleep, eating energy-rich and nourishing food, ensuring adequate hydration, prioritising movement, and making time to play and relax are non-negotiables if you are going to get the most out of your engine. These essentials ensure that you have heaps of energy, the ability to focus and the drive to get things done.
Understand your limiting beliefs about productivity
Beliefs are deep-seated premises that we operate from. An example in the context of productivity is, ‘Successful people work hard all the time’. Examine your beliefs about productivity by listening to your self-talk about productivity, achievement and outcomes.
Write down the language you are using in relation to productivity. Clues about limited beliefs are often reflected in absolute language like ‘all’, ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘everyone’, ‘always’, and so forth. Now challenge these beliefs and work on alternative perspectives.
Vital people are filled with positive energy and this is attractive to those around them
Unpack your conditions of worth
Conditions of worth are criteria we use to measure our worth. For example, ‘I am only good enough if I make the most sales in the office’. We all have conditions of worth and often these are tied to our work and our level of productivity. If we do not achieve our goals our harsh inner critic reminds us of how ‘not good enough we are’.
The inner critic provides valuable clues about your conditions of worth. Notice the critical language and note down the criteria for worthiness. These criteria stem from our childhood conditioning. All things conditioned can be unlearned. Worthiness does not have criteria.
Understand how anxiety impacts productivity
Notice if you feel anxious at work especially when you know your productivity is not where you want it to be, or if you are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop when things are going well.
Anxiety can literally take the part of your brain that reasons, problem-solves, decision-makes and concentrates offline. For more on recognising your symptoms of anxiety and managing anxiety, please read Dr Catherine Frogley’s article featured in Arabian Business on 14 December 2020.
Know the parts of yourself that you need to work on
Notice the things that are typically difficult for you in the work setting. Maybe focus and concentration or thinking creatively under pressure may be difficult. You may enjoy most parts of your work but struggle with very specific elements like report writing or public speaking.
Sometimes we avoid things that are challenging, and this then impacts productivity and output. Most of the time these identified challenges can be improved with upskilling. Find courses and/or mentors and read and listen to material that can provide you with strategies and skills to work on your identified areas for improvement.
Manage your time effectively
Limiting beliefs and conditions of worth can get in the way of effective time management. For example, if you believe that you ‘should be everything to everybody all the time’ or if you attach your worth to pleasing others most of the time, you may spend your time unwisely on these pursuits.
Be mindful of distractions and how you prioritise tasks. Notice if ineffective time management stems from fear of disappointing others, needing to please or a preoccupation of what others think of you. Or maybe there is procrastination stemming from other limiting beliefs like perfectionism or self-doubt.
The mechanisms underlying time mismanagement then need to be actively addressed. Refocus on effective prioritising and avoid distractions, and behaviours that support limiting beliefs.
We all have conditions of worth and often these are tied to our work and our level of productivity
Connect and engage in healthy relationships at work
Most jobs require team engagement and teamwork. Notice how you engage at work. For example, are you listening when someone on the team is making a contribution, or already thinking about how your ideas are not as good as theirs or how you could one-up the person speaking? Are you always operating from a place of unworthiness and wanting to prove yourself at the expense of engagement?
Be curious and observe yourself compassionately. Notice the aspects of engagement you can work on. Improve engagement by bringing your E game.
Empathy – listen actively and relate to the content as well as the emotion that is being shared. Ask clarifying questions. Remember the importance of eye contact, an open posture and eliminating distraction. Respond to difficult content with compassion and behaviours that could reduce distress.
Energy – self-care routines boost physical and emotional energy and foster vitality. Vitality is contagious and will greatly enhance your engagement at work. Vital people are filled with positive energy and this is attractive to those around them.
Enoughness – when you have untangled yourself from your limiting beliefs and conditions of worth, and decreased the volume of the inner critic, you bring your ‘enough Self’ to work and from this Self you can engage with others more authentically.
Dr Ottilia Brown is a clinical psychologist with The Lighthouse Arabia
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Improving productivity: A guide to being (not doing) more
Dr Ottilia Brown, clinical psychologist with The Lighthouse Arabia, looks at how to increase productivity without burning out
Dr Ottilia Brown is a clinical psychologist with The Lighthouse Arabia
Improving productivity is not about having more hours in the day or sleeping less or doing as many things as possible at the same time. It is more about learning how to disentangle your self-worth from your productivity and in so doing decrease the levels of anxiety you may be producing with on a daily basis.
It is also more about figuring out who you are and what you bring and how you can bring the best you to the table through authentic engagement. Let’s get stuck into the how:
Self-care
This includes everything that says, ‘I care about myself and I am worthy of taking care of myself’. Good quality and sufficient sleep, eating energy-rich and nourishing food, ensuring adequate hydration, prioritising movement, and making time to play and relax are non-negotiables if you are going to get the most out of your engine. These essentials ensure that you have heaps of energy, the ability to focus and the drive to get things done.
Understand your limiting beliefs about productivity
Beliefs are deep-seated premises that we operate from. An example in the context of productivity is, ‘Successful people work hard all the time’. Examine your beliefs about productivity by listening to your self-talk about productivity, achievement and outcomes.
Write down the language you are using in relation to productivity. Clues about limited beliefs are often reflected in absolute language like ‘all’, ‘must’, ‘should’, ‘everyone’, ‘always’, and so forth. Now challenge these beliefs and work on alternative perspectives.
Unpack your conditions of worth
Conditions of worth are criteria we use to measure our worth. For example, ‘I am only good enough if I make the most sales in the office’. We all have conditions of worth and often these are tied to our work and our level of productivity. If we do not achieve our goals our harsh inner critic reminds us of how ‘not good enough we are’.
The inner critic provides valuable clues about your conditions of worth. Notice the critical language and note down the criteria for worthiness. These criteria stem from our childhood conditioning. All things conditioned can be unlearned. Worthiness does not have criteria.
Understand how anxiety impacts productivity
Notice if you feel anxious at work especially when you know your productivity is not where you want it to be, or if you are constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop when things are going well.
Anxiety can literally take the part of your brain that reasons, problem-solves, decision-makes and concentrates offline. For more on recognising your symptoms of anxiety and managing anxiety, please read Dr Catherine Frogley’s article featured in Arabian Business on 14 December 2020.
Know the parts of yourself that you need to work on
Notice the things that are typically difficult for you in the work setting. Maybe focus and concentration or thinking creatively under pressure may be difficult. You may enjoy most parts of your work but struggle with very specific elements like report writing or public speaking.
Sometimes we avoid things that are challenging, and this then impacts productivity and output. Most of the time these identified challenges can be improved with upskilling. Find courses and/or mentors and read and listen to material that can provide you with strategies and skills to work on your identified areas for improvement.
Manage your time effectively
Limiting beliefs and conditions of worth can get in the way of effective time management. For example, if you believe that you ‘should be everything to everybody all the time’ or if you attach your worth to pleasing others most of the time, you may spend your time unwisely on these pursuits.
Be mindful of distractions and how you prioritise tasks. Notice if ineffective time management stems from fear of disappointing others, needing to please or a preoccupation of what others think of you. Or maybe there is procrastination stemming from other limiting beliefs like perfectionism or self-doubt.
The mechanisms underlying time mismanagement then need to be actively addressed. Refocus on effective prioritising and avoid distractions, and behaviours that support limiting beliefs.
Connect and engage in healthy relationships at work
Most jobs require team engagement and teamwork. Notice how you engage at work. For example, are you listening when someone on the team is making a contribution, or already thinking about how your ideas are not as good as theirs or how you could one-up the person speaking? Are you always operating from a place of unworthiness and wanting to prove yourself at the expense of engagement?
Be curious and observe yourself compassionately. Notice the aspects of engagement you can work on. Improve engagement by bringing your E game.
Dr Ottilia Brown is a clinical psychologist with The Lighthouse Arabia
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