Toxic productivity is the desire for productivity at all times at the expense of other priorities.I’ve suffered from this kind of behavior for the past two years at different times. I still fall back into it sometimes. And when it happens, I can’t stand being unproductive. And my mind is always on work more.But lately, I’ve been trying to control this need and take care of my mental health more. And if you are in the same spiral of doom, I suggest you do the same.

How To Stay Away From Toxic Productivity (1)

Have you ever tried to be productive when you are sick? It’s not the best feeling in the world.You can try as hard as you want. But you won’t do much because your brain focuses on keeping you alive instead.So why would you want to neglect your health and trigger that outcome? Wellness comes before anything else. And you have to focus on your health first to remain productive.

1 – Wellness before anything else.

There are many reasons why you might be unhappy with your daily achievements. But toxic productivity and procrastination have to be the two main reasons you feel like you haven’t done enough. And, in one case, you will be right. But the solution is the same – you must rethink your productivity.So, how can you do that?Here are five new patterns that can help improve your productivity.

How To Rethink Productivity in 2024

The Challenge helps me stay away from my work. But I am a software developer. I know how much AI is affecting our lives. And it will do even more in the future.Today, you need good <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/136952477?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts">prioritization skills </a>to enhance your productivity. But tomorrow, AI might find the best route towards success. It might define your goals based on your life dreams. And you will only need to work according to the plan.So, don’t undermine the power of AI in the future of productivity. It might become a weapon for us all.

5 – AI is the future.

Have you ever felt like you have to do something only because you spent so much time and resources on it?The sunk cost fallacy is the name of the psychological effect I just described. And you can use it to trick your mind into doing things.But be careful – you will never get your time back. So, think twice about your priorities and where you decide to invest your time. If a task doesn’t give any returns, you better abandon it.

7 – The Sunk Cost Fallacy Method

Introducing these five new patterns in your life is simple. But it’s always better to adopt systems someone else has built and tested instead of starting from scratch.So, here are a few tools that can bring you many advantages and make you more productive.

7 Simple Tools for Productivity

If you’re interested, we can discuss toxic productivity more in-depth (leave a comment if you want) . But for now, here are a few things to track to understand if you have a rotten relationship with productivity.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">You can't turn off and spend time with your family and friends.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">You feel guilty when unproductive, even if you already did a lot.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">And your productivity affects your health or personal relationships.</li></ul>You may want to rethink your productivity if you have these behaviors. And you can only start from scratch to succeed at it.

How To Stay Sway From Toxic Productivity (2)

Find the productivity system that better fits your needs and personality. Then, work on your productivity issues:* If you work too much, increase your breaks and spend more time with family and friends.* Or, if you procrastinate too much, learn how to prioritize your tasks and keep your focus under control.[<a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">SUBSCRIBE </a>TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE INFOGRAPHIC]

Productivity is not just about doing more but also taking better breaks.Some people take too many breaks, others too few. You may be distracted during your time off and procrastinate. Or you may never disconnect from work and get back to it more exhausted than when you left.All those behaviors show poor break management. Yet, when you don’t give your brain enough time to breathe or give it too much of it, it will turn against you.

3 – More breaks, higher productivity.

Most of the methods we discussed focus on a single level of priority. But you can do better than that.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Write a list of tasks and rank them from A to E (where A is the top priority).</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Give each “A” task a number that indicates the order in which you will work on them.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Repeat the process for each letter, and you will have a double-priority list.</li></ul>

6 – The ABCDE Method

I love to-do lists. They have been my first love. So I can’t leave them even if I want to. But I realize simple to-do lists are not enough anymore.They can help you in the beginning. We all had our to-do lists moment. But there comes a day when you have to give them up.Productivity comes with more complex systems. And we will see some of them in a moment.

4 – No more to-do lists?

I’ve already discussed <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/136952477?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts">the pilot story </a>and Warren Buffett’s prioritization method in a dedicated issue. However, here’s a short recap.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Write your top 25 life goals. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">Circle the top 5 goals that matter more than anything else.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Put the other 20 goals on a separate list of things to avoid at all costs.</li></ul>

5 – The Warren Buffett Method

The Eisenhower matrix is a simple but powerful tool to prioritize useful and remove useless tasks. We already <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/p/mastering-prioritization">talked about it once </a>on the Challenge, and you also have an infographic to use it. But here’s a short recap of what you need to know.The Eisenhower matrix has four sections based on the urgency and importance of the tasks.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The DO section includes tasks that are urgent and important.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The DELAY section has critical tasks you can do later.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">The DELEGATE section includes tasks that are urgent but not important.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">And the DELETE section has neither urgent nor important tasks.</li></ul>

1 – The Eisenhower Matrix Method

Every time you finish a task, you get a rush of dopamine that grows with the complexity of what you just finished. So, one of the strongest methods to stay productive is to work on the hardest task of the day first thing in the morning. This way, everything else will be much simpler.

4 – The Eat The Frog Method

Cal Newport’s Deep Work is one of the most influential books of the last ten years. And it has been quickly ramping up between the gods of productivity like <a href="https://amzn.to/3GXhgRk">Atomic Habits </a>by James Clear or <a href="https://amzn.to/41CFMAF">Eat That Frog </a>by Brian Tracy.But why is this book so valuable?Newport’s power stays in the simplicity of his system.With deep work, everything is simple. You pick a task. And then you focus deeply on it, closing everything else out. Therefore, you will work faster and better, and your wellbeing will benefit too.

2 – Deep work rules.

When you struggle to keep track of everything, you can always build a master list.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Start to make a list of everything you have to do.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Break all your tasks into monthly, weekly, and daily goals.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Prioritize the most effective work.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">And add any new task to the master list.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">And review it in a weekly session.</li></ul>

3 – The Master List Method

Task ranking is one of the most efficient ways to prioritize them. And with the Ivy Lee method, you will rank your tasks based on their priority.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Write the six most important things you want to do the following day.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Prioritize those six tasks based on their importance.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">During the day, only concentrate on one task at a time.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Finish everything on the list.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Repeat the process every day.</li></ul>You will achieve higher productivity if you assess the tasks the day before. Your brain will already start to think about it. And you will save the most productive hours of the day - the morning.

2 – The Ivy Lee Method

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Before yu go

You are reading an excerpt from <a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/">The Challenge</a>, a newsletter where I discuss self-improvement, goal-setting, habits, time management, and health tips and tricks.Every week, you will get the following:<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">a challenge to pursue to improve your life</li><li class="ql-align-justify">an infographic to track it.</li></ul><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/subscribe">Subscribe now</a> to help me continue publishing this type of content.

The Challenge

Productivity these days revolves around two main topics we discussed many times on The Challenge.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify"><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/136244179?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts">Time management </a>defines how well you can stick to your schedule and respect your commitments. If you are good at it, you will focus on one task at a time and keep your procrastination under control.</li><li class="ql-align-justify"><a href="https://cosmopolitanmindset.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/136952477?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts">Prioritization </a>defines how well you can pick the task that gives you higher outputs. There are many ways you can reach the same goal. And picking the fastest and least stressful way is something you can work on.</li></ul>By combining these two topics, you can reach higher productivity and avoid toxic behaviors.

Time Management & Prioritization

Here are some books you can buy through my Amazon referral links to support The Challenge.<ul><li class="ql-align-justify"><a href="https://amzn.to/3GXhgRk">Atomic Habits</a> by James Clear</li><li class="ql-align-justify"><a href="https://amzn.to/3tpP06Z">Get Things Done</a> by David Allen</li><li class="ql-align-justify"><a href="https://amzn.to/48k0wA4">The Slight Edge</a> by Jeff Olson</li></ul>

Books of the Month

For too many years, we measured productivity as the number of hours you logged at your desk or how quickly you can complete a task. But today, productivity has become something far more sophisticated and abstract.It’s not just about doing more. Everyone can do more by sacrificing everything else. But that’s not the goal.Nowadays, you are productive if you do what matters. Prioritization and time management are vital. And you have to find ways to rethink your productivity routines to stay ahead of everyone else.So, that’s what we are going to do with this issue.

What is Productivity?

Tame the chaos! Explore 7 simple systems for productivity mastery. Unlock your full potential by streamlining your life with actionable strategies. Conquer the chaos and thrive!

2 – The Ivy Lee Method

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