3 Tips To Maximize Your Productivity Without Sacrificing Your Mental Health

By Mary Claire Schibelka, LPC

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I feel like society sends us nonstop conflicting messages.  Lately, I’ve been thinking about productivity, goal-accomplishment, self-care, and what it really means to live a fulfilling life.

In one camp, we hear messages like, “Never give up on your dreams,” and “Do more to get more.”  We also live in a side-hustle culture, where it’s more popular than ever to pay bills with your 9-to-5 and grind on evenings and weekends to afford dinners out, Lolla tickets, and Instagrammable vacations.

On the other side, we hear, “Your worth does not lie in your productivity.”  “It’s okay to fail.”  “You need to take time off for self-care.”  “Tell your boss you’ve set a boundary and will no longer be working past 6pm.”

But what if you want to work hard to start a business or afford the finer things in life?  What if you want that, and you still want to watch your favorite TV show and go out for spontaneous drinks with friends?  Can you do both?

These questions sent me on a journey this week to research how you can kill it in your career, knock out a substantial amount of to-do list items each day, and still have time to take care of yourself and live a fulfilling life, because let’s be honest- all work and no play just isn’t it.

Here are 3 of the most important tips I’ve learned:

Be Picky with Your Friends

When you’re a career-driven person, your time is very valuable.  Spending it with people you don’t really enjoy can feel like a waste.  Instead, choose to spend time with friends who recharge and motivate you to be the best version of yourself.  Time with these kinds of people will be fun, and it will also prepare you to work hard when you’re ready to get back to it.

Do Self-Care That Works

It seems easy, but figuring out which self-care activities actually rejuvenate you takes work!  You probably hear a lot about journaling, taking bubble baths, getting your nails done, and meditating, but self-care can include so much more.  Self-care can include anything, like running, painting, shopping, gardening, seeing a movie, crossfit, cooking, cleaning, fixing cars...anything!  Experiment and find out what you enjoy in order to get the most out of your self-care time.

Create Routines

I know this one can be cringy.  Especially if you’re more Type B or spontaneous.  But it really works.  Creating daily and weekly routines helps you consolidate your productivity into a preselected amount of hours.  In other words, it helps you get stuff done in a reasonable amount of time, so you can finish tasks and get out there and enjoy life.  You can Google “successful peoples’ morning routines” for ideas, and then customize them to be doable for you.

Even though it sometimes seems like productivity and mental health are mutually exclusive, the truth is they really can coexist.  Be mindful about how you use your time and who you spend it with.  Staying focused during times you assign for work will allow you to relax and enjoy socializing and self-care during your much-needed breaks.

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