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Productivity block and how to lift it.

Why is it some days action flows naturally while others we feel like we weigh a ton? What exactly is that weight, and how to drop it so you can carry on?

There isn’t one clear-cut reason. There are several possibilities, and chances are they are all at play to some extent. We’ll see that while there is always a way to drop the weight, it isn’t necessarily productive to do so. Sometimes it is there for good reasons.

Understand the slump, then work with the positive aspects to speed them up. Bypass the negative ones: those that are costing you time and energy without the benefit.

Whatever the cause, Z Planner and my productivity tool recommendations can make the difference. Moreover, as always, understanding the problem is the best first step to take to find the solution.

The slump can be positive.

My aunt is a psychologist. I had a very interesting conversation with her years ago when she said something that stuck with me ever since.

“Even when you are doing nothing, you are creating.”

It will come to no surprise to you that much of your work is done, or at least prepared, at a subconscious level. This is only true for things that you strive to accomplish. I am talking about goals that are your own. Those are the ones that implicate you, mind body and soul.

It is much less applicable to things you do because you are told to, or were led to believe that you had to. Those tasks may indeed need to be done (not getting fired, divorced, written off a will…), but will only implicate you at a subconscious level if you are dedicated to seeing it through.

You subconsciously sort out the best way to achieve a goal, given a goal is set that you want to achieve. If that goal is technically difficult to achieve, you will feel stuck as long as it takes for your subconscious mind to have set the course, and brought that plan to your conscious mind.

Rushing it will lead to a less than perfect plan. Waiting it out will probably lead to eternal procrastination. There has to be a compromise.

Your options, depending on the situation.

Option one: going with what you’ve got, and letting your subconscious know it.

I find it extremely effective to tell myself: I haven’t figured it all out yet, but I have a good enough plan to get started.

Count on yourself to find the missing pieces as you go along.

By doing this, you are communicating with your subconscious, telling it you think it has done its job and that you want to take the lead. It will continue working with you as you go along. More importantly, it will stop blocking you on the (sometimes) false pretense that you first need to find a better way.

Your first steps will determine if you really did need further preparation (option 2), or if things are going well enough to see things through all the way.

Option two: help your subconscious work it out faster.

Although lack of preparation can be an illusion, it can also be very real. If you aren’t ready, then you can decide to stay in the preparatory phase, and help yourself out.

Once again, the key is being aware that you are subconsciously working out a plan. Option two is simply deciding that that plan needs some work, and that you can act to get that work done faster.

Task breakdown is an incredibly effective way to do this. Create a Z Planner project. Use the task breakdown feature to work out a plan. Then create the same project again, with a different name. Make another task tree.

If things come out differently, then you may want to give yourself more time. Move on to something else, and give that particular goal some more time for processing. Rest assured, by running the task breakdown, you’ve sped things along and made progress. The next time around may be the right time for actual production.

Perfectionism.

It is very fashionable to call oneself a perfectionist. Most people consider it a positive trait. It is the best excuse for procrastination that was ever invented.

Your subconscious may block you because it hasn’t figured things out, and doesn’t want to go into the unknown (the fear, always the fear). Once this becomes a habit, a common manifestation of this habit is to blame it on perfectionism. Convince others of this if you like, but do not allow yourself to believe it. Your project may need further preparation and thinking before actual production can take place, but be sure you honestly ask yourself if it is really the case.

Laziness.

I honestly believe laziness does not exist. Fear, lack of purpose, or just a positive productivity slump that you can cure mostly by identifying it as such accounts for all cases of laziness from my point of view.

Do not let yourself believe that you are lazy. Laziness is a self-demeaning diagnosis that works like calling oneself a perfectionist. At least the latter doesn’t add guilt to the equation.

Just like perfectionist, it is OK to let others believe you are lazy. Just don’t believe it yourself. Look for a goal, kill the fear, figure out a good way (good should be good enough). Let your subconscious do much of the work, just give it a nudge from time to time and then decide to get started. Use all the tools you can find that work and will help you.

Repeat the process until all of your goals are achieved.

Other causes for productivity block.

There are other causes for being stuck, but when you analyse them, you will find they are often tied to the subconscious trying to build a perfect plan.

Lack of purpose.

The only exception I can see, because in this case the subconscious has nothing to work on, and no unknown to fear going into.

Yet even this isn’t fully an exception. It is a mirror image of the perfect plan syndrome. Nothing is safer than having no goal. It is by far the surest way to not have to step into the dark. It is the surest way to forget to live.

The first is stalling. Lack of purpose is refusing the very idea of movement.

It is also caused by fear.  Everyone has dreams. Many choose to forget them.

Being worn out.

There’s nothing like pushing too hard, wanting to finish, getting close to a deadline without making progress to wear you out. If the task at hand is important to you, ask yourself if fighting the positive slump described above isn’t the cause of lost energy.

If it isn’t, then we can explore the motivation equation again. Lack of desire? Lack of energy? Too much fear? Whatever the case, there is a binaural track that can help.

Indecision.

There may be two or three paths that lead to the desired result. Sometimes it simply boils down to things that can be done in different orders. Perhaps the problem requires a little more processing time (the positive slump again), but chances are you just need to do one of the tasks and stop worrying about the immediate consequences of chosing one over the other.

Technical problems.

All of your attention is drawn to one particular grain of sand that you think will cripple the entire plan (sometimes rightly so).

Or perhaps, once again, your subconscious mind is drawn to this problem and still busy trying to figure it out. If the problem requires a technical solution you do not know yet, you may need to apply some problem solving (ASIT!), or get help getting past the hurdle (friends, colleagues, outsourcing, consulting specialized forums, books…). I find that getting the tasks you know you need done will give you time to find a way past the perceived obstacle.

Perception of time.

I get this very often. To me, knowing the following helped a lot.

Oftentimes, you have just 20-30 minutes that you can dedicate to your project. It is very easy to let yourself believe it isn’t enough time to get started, build momentum and do something worthwhile.

It isn’t true. Your mind is playing tricks on you that cost you dozens of hours a month of preciously productive time. It can take 45 minutes to get into gear in normal circumstances, so the shorter time frames are viewed as useless, and ultimately lost. Yet each of these little time slots can contain a completed task. Or, simply 1/10th of a completed task.

If you’ve made a list of short tasks with Z Planner, and you are using binaurals for  immediate motivation, then focus, you can easily take advantage of those micro time frames that can add up to hours each day, and dozens of hours per month. They are one of the keys to achieving a personal goal on a limited “time budget”. 

Granted, Z Planner only has 1 hour time frames. If you’ve planned 1 hour a day, you may need to spread it over early in the morning, lunch break, and late at night. You may also need to make little arrangements, like leaving your computer on all day so everything is ready when you get back. Or you can carry your laptop around with you in sleep mode (that’s what those things are for!) Look for solutions, resist the excuses, and you can take advantage of the 20-30 minute breaks to get ahead on your goals.

I do not put off projects to when I have 4 straight hours available. I would rather use those 4 straight hours to relax and sacrifice the 20-30 minute breaks that do not relax me anyways.

Conclusion

Don’t underestimate the extra productivity tools. Immediate motivation and focus (binaurals) have been an invaluable help for me, adding thousands of 20-30 minute time frames for personal work (plus getting up much earlier when big projects are under development).

I am just starting to discover the effects of the creativity track, having focused my usage on motivation, focus and occasional training. Try it when you think you are slumped because still processing unconsciously. Do this in conjunction with Z Planner. You can’t imagine that feeling, and I cannot put it in words!

Occasionally, setting up timers with AM has helped me take full advantage of 2-3 hour time frames, so I could have time to unwind and still be satisfied of my day’s work on a day off.

And the systematic creativity course is just thrilling, especially when asymetrical thinking (for example) helps you solve a real life problem and get a project going again.

Don’t give up on Z Planner too easily. It really does take some time to uncover its full potential. Once you have, the combination of all these tools changes you forever: project after project.

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