Does Lack of Time Reduce Productivity?

I was talking to one of my students who attended my course related to productivity and overcoming procrastination, and she mentioned that she wanted to start a blog but took no action to do so. Eventually, she wanted to give up her goal saying, "Maybe it's time to move on."

I can understand it because about a decade ago, I wanted to start writing, and I tried many different things. I tried to write novels, but I could not achieve my goals. Anyone can relate to this. Maybe you've wanted to start a business, write a book, create a podcast, or launch an app, but you've never done so, but why?

Sometimes we justify to ourselves, "I don't have time, I'm too busy," but that's not true. We can always make time for our important things. The problem is not about time but something else, and I realized that when I was watching a video of Zig Ziglar, who has written more than 30 books, he said, "The problem lies in the lack of direction, not in the lack of time, as we all have twenty-four hours a day".

Why do we feel powerless most of the time?

When we feel powerless or unproductive, we try to force ourselves to work, thinking we need more willpower or motivation to move forward.

For example, one of my friends has been facing the same productivity problem for a long time. Every now and then he feels inspired to change his life and starts working on his goals. He wants to do everything at the same time, "Exercise, get up early, meditate, change his diet, read, set up a side business as a freelance designer." However, he always started in full swing, then his energy ran out after a few weeks of high productivity. He is either too excited or completely helpless and wastes a lot of time. As a result, he has not made any serious progress in any field during the past several years.

I can truly identify with him because that's how I've been living. But that was way before I understood why I was feeling helpless. It was caused by the lack of sense of direction. I was trying to do too many things at once aimlessly. Just because a successful person runs 10 miles a day doesn't mean you should too. Or just because a celebrity gets up at 4 a.m. doesn't mean you're lazy if you wake up at 8 a.m.

What is your goal? And what do you have to do to reach it?

Ask yourself these two questions if you've always been underproductive and not making serious progress in life. The biggest change I've made in my life was when I decided to become a full-time writer. When I decided to pursue that career, I immediately had a sense of direction, and finally everything became clear.

Another friend of mine has been saying, "I don't know which way to go" for five years, and I always say the same thing to him when he asks me how it worked for me. I simply answer, "I chose a direction and started to move."

But how do you know it's the right direction? I had no idea about it, as we don't know anything about the future. If you want to change your life and make progress, you have to accept uncertainty. You can't predict the future, and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable, but you have to embrace the feeling of being uncomfortable.

Do you make excuses?

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to know that you are making excuses. Earlier this year, my energy was low and I felt unproductive and started complaining. I've been doing it for a few days, then I said to myself, "You're just making excuses. Stop doing that and focus on what you're always doing."

The only way to have a good life is to stay active. Keep finding solutions that make you enjoy your work. Find fun in the little things and be useful. This is how we function as human beings, and this is what makes us happy.

In Conclusion:

To keep things simple for yourself, you need a system to rely on when you feel helpless. That's why I like to have a productive system. I don't rely on it when everything is right, but when everything is going wrong. Your reactions while facing difficulties can define who you are. Will you make excuses and say you're too busy to exercise, spend quality time with your loved ones, or look after your mental health? Will you inspire yourself by establishing a direction in your life? If your answer is yes to this question, you will be fine.