K AB

TAL O
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UT
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Toxic
Productivity
.. and how to avoid it
Raise your hand if you...

Work from day to night, sometimes at

expense of your health because you
forgot to eat & sleep well
Feel guilty for laying down for a while and
resting
Think you need achievements to get
validations from other people
Forgot what it's like to network and
befriend others with pure & genuine
intention, not for work/professional
intention

Then you might have the toxic productivity!

 Especially in the
midst of pandemic

You probably have seen this quote/similar one, that

encourages you to adopt the hustle culture and
keep racing against others to achieve more and be
productive every second you're living.
 How to deal with it?

I myself have been trapped in this situation at the beginning

of the pandemic. Until one day, I realized that it impacted
badly on my physical and mental health and I ought to take
breaks due to the burnout.

Here's what I did to recover from the bad habit of

toxic productivity :

1. Set realistic goals

2. Put 'self-care' as one of the daily to-do list
3. Take a break from social media if needed
4. Define clear boundaries!

Let's go into more details

1.Set Realistic Goals
Stop being a yes-man and say yes to every
unrealistic goal you put to yourself or others put to
you.

If the pressure comes internally :

Remember your long-term goals and don't get
stuck in short-term goals
Practice time management, learns what is
urgent and important and what's not!

If the pressure comes externally :

Learn how to 'set expectation', adjust deadline
reasonably
Encourage work-life balance to your coworkers
2. Put Self-care as one of
your daily to-do list
Self-care may come in different ways for different
people, the most important thing is find the one
that makes you feel you're resting and taking care
of your body & mind.

Here are some examples of good self-care

activities :
Reading
Journaling
Exercise
Eating that cake you've always craved for!
Learning new language for fun
Sleep in a healthy amount
3. Take a break from
social media if needed
If you think your main source of fatigue and
insecurities comes from social media, then it might
be healthy to take breaks from social media
sometimes.

I deactivated my Instagram for >2 months and

found myself highly refreshed when I went back.
Some alternatives that you may do :
Limit your screen time
Take on new habit to replace the 'mindless
scrolling' habit
Adjust the pages you followed to those that
give you positivity
4. Define clear
boundaries

Now, this one is arguably the most important tip

that can be adapted to those who can't afford to
implement the other 3 tips I provided.

Defining boundaries might look like this :

Be comfortable in saying 'no' and accepting 'no'
from others
Not answering calls/ messages after working
hours
Communicate upfront
Delegate if necessary
 Additional Tips

Adapt the pomodoro technique if you think it suits

you!

1. Choose an activity to focus on

2. Work for 25 mins
3. Take 5 mins break
4. Repeat 4 times then take a longer break (30 mins)
Hope these tips help you!
Let me know what you
think on the comment
section below :)

- Yacinta Shafira