Why Emotion Management Is the Key to Long-Term Productivity

Our long-term success in any major area of life depends upon our ability to effectively manage our emotions, especially the big scary ones.

A few observations about emotion management and productivity:

1. Mindlessness or a lack of self-awareness is always Enemy Number 1.
2. The mind will always resist challenging work. It doesn’t mean something’s wrong.
3. Procrastination provides a quick relief from the uncomfortable emotion generated by critical self-talk.
4. Procrastination is a form of impatience that says if you’re not succeeding right away that means it’s hopeless.
5. Procrastination isn't a disease or a character flaw, it is a natural answer of our mind as a result of doing challenging work.

1. Pay attention to your self-talk: learn to identify your self-talk and try to suppress it.
2. Improve your emotional vocabulary: we typically lack a vocabulary for thinking about our emotional states. By expanding it, we can become more self-aware and improve our way of managing emotions.
3. Practice mindfulness: train your attention in order to better navigate difficult thoughts and feelings.
4. Work with a therapist or coach: try to talk to a specialist in order to get support from an expert in the field.