Back in April, I published an article on Elpha centered around how I manage to work full-time and run my own business, amongst just living life. The article sparked some intriguing conversations, including a meeting with Jiajia Wu, fellow productivity enthusiast. Jiajia is currently building a solution that optimizes schedules to meet tailored requirements without sacrificing wellness.
Throughout the course of our conversation, she asked an intriguing question, “What does productivity mean to you?” It’s a question I inadvertently think about often, while never really framing it in that way. And so today’s newsletter aims to answer just that – What it means when I say “productivity” and how this definition (or redefinition) can change your perspective on what it means to have a “productive day.”
I’ve invited Jiajia to co-write this month’s newsletter for a varied perspective on productivity. My thoughts on the topic are coming next month.
By Jiajia Wu
As a big fan of life hacks since my teenage years, I’ve explored countless productivity techniques and popular books on the subject in my life.
Yet, 2024 marks the first year I didn’t set any grand New Year's resolutions. It took me many years to accept that my lack of effective productivity implementation kept me dreaming without results—ambitious, but empty.
For a long time, I thought productivity was simply the tangible value produced within set hours—a typical modern business term. Wasn’t stretching one’s effort to maximize task completion straightforward enough?
But it was really my inability to articulate my real struggle with “waking up at 6 am” type of self-discipline and adapting so-called healthier habits, contrary to my lifehack frenzy, that made me realize there was something more below the iceberg.
I asked Lauren this question during our conversation. There are so many solutions, but if the solutions truly work, why do so many people like myself still struggle with living in a productive way? It’s really the misalignment between the default definition of productivity and the way it is executed at the individual level that causes the pain.
Obviously, the complexity of the productivity problem goes beyond simply getting more things done. As executors, we’re not machines functioning endlessly every minute. The neuroscience and psychology behind it, while not always recognized by laypersons, easily dominate our thoughts and actions. And even more, when we talk about productivity, we may easily neglect those intangible values like peace of mind, quality rest, and mental well-being.
At the core, as human beings, the reason we want to achieve more productivity is because we desire the freedom to spend our time on things we truly value. Like uncovering all the other aspects of our lives, a holistic self-awareness of our rhythms and behavioral patterns, core goals that can trigger our deep motivation and fear, and full visibility of our time should all be connected to truly help us design a more fulfilled, productive life.
The cosmos is within us.
And the curiosity of learning more about ourselves is the beginning of a journey toward fulfilled productivity. 📈
Follow Jiajia on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with her innovations in the productivity space.