— Ms. Kirti Keswani

Member at Brainy Bunch

The one thing that I have noticed in recent times is that we all are hell bent on being productive. We have directly associated productivity with being successful. Most of us have made this rule for ourselves, “If I am not able to use every day of mine into doing something that I can quantify to add to my work then I have wasted my day.” And this in turn ends up making us feel bad, sometimes horrible about ourselves. But my question is, is it right on our part to measure our worth just by looking at the day as something which we are given to work our mind out to get just results out of it? Just as doing something that I can add to my resume or my profile on LinkedIn? Don’t you think our goal should be beyond that?

I personally feel that rather than doing something that adds to our resume or LinkedIn profile, we should be doing something that will actually add value to our life and the work we do. The keyword here is “Add Value”.

We all know that in the month of December, Netflix had a free stream fest for 2 days. I remember someone posting on LinkedIn about it. I don’t remember the exact words but it was something around the lines that just because Netflix is free for two days doesn’t mean you should waste your time on it. Don’t waste these two days as it is a complete waste of time and a hindrance in your productivity. The post had many likes and comments agreeing to the same. This actually made me think, am I really wasting my time and being unproductive? I discussed it with one of my friends too, and she had the perfect answer to it according to me. She said, “You do work sincerely when you are doing it and give your best to it, so having your time of leisure given that you don’t do it all the time is not a waste of time. In fact, it is important to have that break and chill for a while. It will make you feel good about yourself because at the end of the day we are humans not robots or machines. It will not be hindrance but a boon to your productivity.”

That is my point, we should be sincere and dedicated towards our work but there is nothing wrong in taking a break for some days if we have reached our limits. Having these breaks from time to time is important and this is not something you should feel guilty about. Trust me, once you take that break which is required, you will be back to your work with much more zeal and enthusiasm. This in turn will increase your efficiency and productivity tenfold.

So take breaks when you feel you really need it. Engage yourself in your hobbies, watch movies, listen to music, read your favorite book, spend some time with your family and friends, go for a long walk or a long drive, do anything which will relax your mind and then come back. This is not wasting your time; this is the investment of your time for being much better and productive at your work. But at the same time, don’t take your work for granted.

The conclusion is that, it is all about finding a balance in your personal and professional life. For bring productive in true manner, we have to find that balance and nothing can stop us after that.

Hope you found this article useful and worth your time. Stay tuned for more.