We, as a society, have developed an obsession with being more productive and efficient. As a freshman in university, I, too, was determined to find out every method of becoming better. I had decided that my current pace of improvement wasn’t sufficient and was in urgent need of a boost. I needed to become much better; better at being organized, learning new skills, and overall, being a more exciting and productive person.
So, during the break before university, I took it upon myself to become a productivity expert. My plan was relatively simple. I would use this period to consume as much self-help and productivity content as possible. In this day and age, I had no trouble finding the information I needed: I found books, YouTube videos, personal blogs and podcasts, all of which centred around the idea of self-help and productivity. After one month of continuously watching self-improvement content, I assumed I would gain all the necessary tools to become successful, but unfairly, this wasn’t the case. To my naive self, it seemed impossible that I did not reach any sort of self-improvement enlightenment after reading so many books and watching many videos. Thirty days of reading productivity strategies and learning organization tactics left me even more confused than before I started. Although watching and reading such materials alludes to productivity, I hadn’t accomplished anything within that month. My daily routine of watching YouTubers studying and organizing their Notion accounts surprisingly didn’t change anything about my current state in life. I didn’t draft any articles, learn any skills, or even improve my pre-existing skills, for that matter. I felt as though I had learned nothing.
The abundance of such content on the internet made me feel as though I haven’t even scratched the surface of the sphere of productivity. Consuming such content daily will likely make you feel even more drained and self-critical, which are not feelings that induce productivity. Though this experience was quite disappointing, I am glad I came to this realization sooner rather than later. Through my experience, I gained an understanding of the significance of habit implementation in improving one’s life. I know this sounds painfully simplistic, but imagine the substantial change that can come about, simply by sticking to good habits. You could have the best study plan or gym routine, but expect to see absolutely no results if you don’t take the initiative to act upon such plans.
With the glamorization of 12-hour workdays and hustle culture, the rise of self-help and productivity content is inevitable. While we believe this content is beneficial, excessively consuming such videos or books can go as far as to harm our productivity. People spend most of their valuable time reading such books, cramming their brains with so-called strategies that inevitably confuse us more than they educate us. This disrupts the simplicity of productivity and makes it seem like an even more daunting task than it is. With a myriad of analogies and techniques, we encounter so much information that it’s hard for us to actually implement anything into our lives. Reading several cliche productivity and self-help books made me realize that, at the end of the day, all you need is discipline and a clear objective.
By no means am I saying that you should never read or watch self-improvement content. On the contrary, reading such books may sharpen your routine or reinstate your drive. But such information should be used as a tool to enhance your efficiency and not as a path to finding all your answers. Blindly following such advice would be ineffective. Instead, try new strategies and alter them to your specific needs.
Contrary to many best selling motivational books, habits take time to create, and by staying persistent and striving to be a little better every day, you are far more likely to reach your goals. It all boils down to practicing what you preach, as only having the information will not make you successful, it’s about the implementation!