That’s a weird, almost contradictory title. Let me explain.

I am a 25 year old software developer, productivity and improvement are part of my daily life. Well, they’re supposed to be. Software and tech is a fast moving, high demand industry. Slacking off will be picked up quickly due to regular team catchup and review sessions. Being stagnant in your career is a big problem, sadly you can reach this point without even realizing it. This is something I noticed early in my career and realized constant improvement always needs to be part of your life. I realized I always want to be growing, I want to be a better person. I want to be better in my career, relationship, fitness, productivity and more. This led me to the self-help Gods: productivity gurus and their content.

On slow days I’d ask myself, how can I do more? How can I do better? When I’d forget certain things or lose track of personal projects I’d wonder how can I keep up with everything? My brain immediately went to YouTube, as a 25 year old would do. I found a plethora of ways to be more productive; organizational strategies, life hacks to making your first million and 10 reasons why I’m trash compared to these YouTubers. I tried my best to implement solutions in my daily life. I tried to be more intentional with my note taking and organization. I tried to structure and add meaning. I planned and planned and the more I planned the more I realized just how much there is to improve.

This became daunting. I knew I wasn’t perfect but damn, this bad? With so many parts of my life to improve on, so many methods to try, where do I even start? At this point the thought of this ultra be all and end all productivity and life improvement became toxic. It made me feel worse. I had to find a way to improve but without the guilt of needing the improvement. It’s overwhelming to think about, you end up putting pressure on yourself to deliver 100% everyday. This leads to extreme disappointment and dissatisfaction with your performance and commitment.

It took time for it to sink in my brain that I cannot perform the same every single day. Yes there was a level of productivity to be upheld in my professional life, but there would be slow days. There would be forgetful, procrastination-filled, bad mental health days. A lot of them apparently. I get stuck in the planning, I over plan and over analyze to the point of failure. So I’ve pivoted my thought process. I am staying away from big plans, and just tackling the small things.

This is how I’ve broken it down:

  • I have a long-living task list on Todoist that sits as a widget on my home screen reminding me of the bigger event tasks or goals like servicing my car or saving up for a trip.
  • I type in a notepad file each day with a basic list of daily tasks.
  • I am bullet journaling (see note at the end).

This basic setup helps me to actually do things. Off the top of my head, from meetings or work task boards I can note off what I need to do in notepad. This is something I can keep open throughout my day. It will also include personal things in an order that allows me time to do them. I order my list in a way that leads me satisfied with where I end off for the day. I can always just delete this file when needed, there is 0 upkeep required.

Removing the structure has helped me. Forgetting about the “100 Reasons You’re Not A Millionaire At 16” videos has helped me. I wanted to go basic and so far this is working for me.

There are ways to improve our life. There are many aspects to look at; physical & mental health, relationships, finances, hobbies and general life upkeep. We as humans can handle very little at once, so I think the process is not to change ourselves entirely, but rather one step at a time. Avoid the productivity and life elitists online, do what makes you feel better. The upkeep required with a big notes and productivity system was detrimental to my journey, but this might be something that works for you.

This month, starting this Monday, I am trying out bullet journaling. It is a process of setting up a monthly plan in a physical notebook and filling it out each day. So far I have set up a habit tracker for things I want to keep up, stop or improve. I also have a sleep tracker, mental health journal and daily planner. My current process with this is to use the habit tracker to motivate myself to keep up with my goals. Each day I sit with the planner and write down a list of tasks for the next day, and any carryover. I can open the book at any time and add or update it. The process of ticking off tasks and filling in habits is really satisfying. I want to see how this first month goes, and document the process along the way for a future post.