The Magic of Gentle Productivity
How you can learn to move through different stages of growth
Ever considered that the reason you feel so stressed and time-poor is because you take on way too many things at once?
Today, I want to discuss the 5 Stages of Gentle Productivity and how they can apply to your life.
We will move from the bottom upwards, as shown in the attached diagram.
- Stage 1: Overwhelm
This is that stage so many people are familiar with- you never have enough time to do all of the things you want/ you have a never-ending to-do list/ you feel overworked all the time and pulled in several directions.
- Stage 2: Observation
Those familiar with my habit-building tips would recall this one. A crucial part of getting past overwhelm is first learning to observe it. Each time you feel overwhelmed, take a deep breath and observe the situation. No judgment and no fixing. You are just learning to observe the feeling.
- Stage 3: Awareness
After a few days/weeks of consistent observation, your awareness of the challenge becomes more automatic and refined. You start looking at triggers that cause overwhelm and begin to understand why you feel the way you do.
- Stage 4: Action
You are now ready to take gentle action to shift things in your life. Your observation and awareness have led to this phase, where you’ve stopped judging a situation and instead work on alternative methods to view the challenge.
- Stage 5: Being
Consistent action leads to the highest state of gentle productivity — Being. When you reach this stage, you are now naturally listening to the rhythms in your day/week and embracing the idea of energy management. You can see the triggers before they manifest, you can avoid the time traps before they occur.
These stages are not linear and there will be times when you find yourself sliding back and landing at different stages, even if you reach stage 5 at some point.
The key is to gently nudge yourself forward and bring yourself back on to the path of gentleness. Before you know it, you will no longer be chasing productivity.
You will become a person who is consciously productive.
Shailaja Vishwanath is a creator and coach with over 14 years of experience in the digital space. She has a deep and abiding interest in minimalism, slow business and gentle productivity. She helps other creators, business owners, homemakers and social media influencers learn these guiding principles of mindful time and energy management. She writes more about productivity here.
