Let’s be real, adulting is not for the weak of heart! We’ve got so many responsibilities. From college things, to work things, to social life, to church committees, to family events; we’re always on the move. For some folks, this list doesn’t even cover the half of it. My friend Kim is involved in so many awesome things at university, but she was telling me how it’s only by the grace of God that everything is getting done. All I have to say about that is “Me too, girl. Me too.” My older cousins Janae and Kia were sharing with me how much they want to avoid burnout and stay in the present in their busy lives. I feel them on every level. What I tend to forget sometimes though, is that productivity can actually be a peaceful thing. Wild guess, maybe I’m not the only one. Stress is a very natural emotion for all, but it doesn’t have to be the theme of every work day. As adults, we are responsible for our own progress and productivity. We are supposed to work hard, that is the way God created us and the world we live in. The book of Proverbs talks a lot about this. That doesn’t mean that we should be nearing a meltdown towards the end of our weekly tasks. A lot of what we feel from day to day has to do with the patterns of our everyday mindset. Even though I don’t apply them to life perfectly, let’s talk about three ways I’ve found to make productivity not miserable.

Connection & Care

You ever notice how much your mood changes when you’re with a family member? Ever notice how much clearer your thoughts are when you decide to detox from social media? You forgot about all of your own problems when you volunteered at that soup kitchen last week. You lost track of time when you were painting that abstract piece on Saturday. Maybe that therapy session was just what you needed to feel like yourself again. Reading that Bible scripture last night refreshed your heart to face tomorrow. These are examples of getting back to the present in a natural way. One thing is for sure; I believe in making time for the things you need. Whether that is to work, express your creativity, have quality time with a loved one, give generously, or enjoy the quiet. There is a time for everything. Not to be cliche, but it’s important that we pay attention to what our minds, bodies, hearts, and souls need on the daily. Depending on what that answer is for each of us, we can practice dedicating time for those needs. Sometimes 20 minutes is all it takes for a nice recharge. It’s a simple concept, but very easy to forget when the business of life tries to consume us. The best way to remain in the present is to first decide to remain in the present.

Celebrate!

Man, I love this one! I feel like we could all celebrate the hard work that we put in if we don’t already. I know I don’t do this enough. Once I finish a session of hard work, I usually just start preparing for the following day or task. Or even worse, sometimes I downplay and minimize the work that I’ve done because I’m comparing it to the dream outcome that I had in my mind. Totally normal series of events, but also something that absolutely no one deserves to experience. No matter what the outcome is of the day, no matter how critical that person was of the work you’ve done, no matter what you thought the outcome of your work should’ve been, understand that you showed up. Know that you gave today your best. If you didn’t give today your best, figure out why you didn’t and be grateful for the possibilities of tomorrow. Showing up for the week is something that absolute rockstars do! Whatever that looks like for you, you deserve to be proud. Get yourself a cupcake from a local bakery sometime! Invite your friend over for a comfy spa night at home with face masks. Or maybe a game night if that’s more your speed. Have yourself a good old fashioned dance party right in your living room. Celebration is not about planning this grand party and spending every cent to fund it. It’s about doing what makes you feel special in the moment. Finding something to do big or small that validates your hard work. Believe that you deserve it.

Make it Fun!

I feel like this one is a little unpopular. Even still, I love it! Often times as young adults, we’ve been told to take things in life more seriously. To an extent I agree, but there are instances where I believe we would actually benefit from making a game out of our lives. I’ll explain what I mean. Do you remember in elementary or middle school where if you did something “good”, you would get some sort of shoutout from your teacher, or a reward like a sticker at the end of the day? Have you ever played a role-playing game on your device where you created a little avatar that looked like you, and helped them make all the correct decisions in the game to get to the next level? If not, try one this weekend because you don’t know what you’re missing! Anyways, we can use this kind of thing for our actual lives. Some people may see it as a little juvenile, but believe me, it works. Once you see life stages as something to healthfully challenge yourself with rather than events that could make or break your future, things are not so scary. I know firsthand that the more stressed you are about life, the worse off you could become in the sense of properly moving forward. Create a fun little system where you get yourself a “reward” for completing a task. Whatever you like to do, dedicate it to that reward system. Maybe for you, your next level is saying something nice about yourself every day for a month. Maybe it’s not freaking out about that awkward presentation you just made. Or even going with the flow when plans change. For me what this would look like is maybe creating three customized social media posts for my job to get a popcorn night watching tiny home tours on YouTube. Or finishing a full day of filming & editing to get the reward of going out to dinner with my favorite person in the world (my mom)! I could create literal levels for myself like an actual video game! Some could say it’s only for kids, but hey. You gotta do what’s fun for the sake of a healthier perspective. Sometimes checking off things in a detailed list is rewarding enough but personally, I like to make it more fun. Even if I look a little ridiculous haha. Say that you don’t reach that next level that you’ve created for yourself. What now? Hit that “redo” button and let the games begin again, friend! Don’t think about it too much. The purpose is to try and have fun. Don’t like the video game idea? There are so many other ways to have fun with life. Decide what your vibe is. On the other hand, me? Oh I’m gonna turn up.

Final Thoughts:

I’ve just gotta throw this out there. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we’ve tried our best even when we know deep down that’s not true. At least I do. Which helps absolutely nothing. A comfortable life simply won’t be possible without consistent hard work. At the same time, I don’t believe we should ever punish ourselves for not trying our best. I believe this just creates issues. Instead, we should get to the root of the inefficiency and go from there before it becomes a bigger problem. Talk to God about it. Write down how you’re feeling. Vent to someone you’re close to about why you’re feeling low on fuel. Maybe you need to reflect on whether or not you should change jobs or decrease your responsibilities. Super difficult to face sometimes, but totally worth it for the sake of the things and people getting left behind. Besides, out of all the great things that we work on in our lives, how much of it can we bring with us to the grave? I’m not saying there’s something wrong with giving your all when it comes to work, in fact it’s great! Making the work that you do into your entire identity on the other hand? This can get pretty unhealthy. Underneath what you do, you are simply a person. The moral of this post is to remind you and me to balance the way that we think and feel about our day-to-day lives and responsibilities.

I want to hear from you now! What was your takeaway from this post? Is there anything that you might consider applying to your own life? Tell us in the comments how you plan to engage in self-care, celebrating your accomplishments, or making life more fun! Anyways I hope to enjoyed this read because I absolutely loved the write! Until next time, blog buddies!😉