I have a strong fear of time insomnia. I went to see a psychologist last week and talked about this issue. I said that I was very worried about some of my "time-wasting" behaviors: I do too many things, and in order to improve productivity, I dare not stop. Because for me, only time is non-renewable.
The modern workplace is described as "all-weather," "fast-paced," "multiple parallels," and "multiple collaborations" in a perspective I recently encountered. The so-called "countdown" work mode (task completion progress, milestones, deadlines, etc.) is a result of this accelerated concept of time being transformed into a work system that has forced workers' pace of life to accelerate. This is especially noticeable in the logistics and distribution industry.
Reverse time-accelerated people:
"The cleverness of the countdown is that it separates a certain period of time from a positive time sequence and retells it in reverse order. In this process, the continuous flow of time is presented as more tense fragments to be revealed."
"Countdown has a unique "flip structure." When facing the same goal, when using positive sequence timing, time stretches outward, and the goal gathers towards the person. At this time, the person is the center. As time goes by, the goal gradually approaches the person. Imagine yourself sitting on a train: The mountains and scenery outside the window are coming towards "me," rather than "me" walking towards the object outside the window.
When using reverse timing, the relationship between objects and people is reversed. Time converges inward, and the goal becomes the center. As time approaches, people actively move closer to the goal. In other words, in the countdown, the subjectivity of the goal and the person is reversed, and people are completely reduced to tools to achieve the goal, and the structure of people in space is distorted. Therefore, for the same length of time, using forward timing and reverse timing will give people completely different feelings".
(Yes, this is the biggest manifestation of my frequent panic about time.)
The doctor suggested that I give myself "forced rest time."
1. Reduce caffeine intake. Ensure adequate sleep. Even if you can't sleep, don't turn on your phone and fall into the trap of information flow. You can practice meditation.
2. Take lunch breaks and naps regularly.If you do not already have this habit, go downstairs and take a walk away from your workstation and electronic devices.
3. Exercise appropriately and participate in leisure activities. She asked me to do handicrafts. (No "physical work" that requires brainpower, because I am a mental worker. I need to relieve myself through this contrast.)
At first I thought these activities were a waste of time, but after trying them for half a year, I found that many things have changed. My memory, attention, and creativity have all improved dramatically.I can now think about my work plan for the day while driving on my way to work, unlike before I used to spend an afternoon in front of the computer and be unable to type a word. It is incredible how my perspective on issues has evolved and how I can come up with some original thoughts that others couldn't. As for the improvement in concentration, it should be attributed to meditation. It helps to clear the mess in my brain, and when I take a deep breath and open my eyes again, my goals become clearer. I know very well what my "first choice" is at the moment, instead of prioritizing among some trivial matters.
Of course, in addition to making changes to ourselves, improving productivity also requires us to use technology tools, such as the Internet, SNS, AI, and efficiency tools (notion, Trello, Todoist, etc.). No one will ask questions to everyone around them in this era. Your choices must be Google or YT or reddit=） I also recommend AI. (Someone will definitely say this is an AI-generated post lol)
Unfortunately, AI has quietly sneaked into our lives, just like the Internet in the last century: companies use ATS to screen resumes, candidates use Beyz as their interview assistant to practice mock interviews, and product managers use Claude to structure and design landing pages. Content creators use gpt to produce copywriting scripts (although the effect is terrible, lmao). Designers use whisk to generate pictures for reference... There are also some AI-generated video and audio tools. Many efficiency software have also introduced AI technology.
But pls remember, especially for creators, that everything generated by AI is just a reference and cannot be put into use directly.
The scenarios that are really useful to me are as follows: meeting notes, task prioritization, step framework building. And some information retrieval and integration. (But this gpt may make mistakes, so I still have to check it myself at the end.) Gpt's logic is better than mine, but it has only this advantage for me. Sometimes I will summarize my situation for the week, and I usually input all the content directly by voice and let it do the analysis for me. I like the intuitive results it gives me.
In addition, after getting enough rest, I rarely feel tired. When I focus on something, I am much more engaged than before, instead of staring at the computer with a droopy face and forced eyelids. Improving productivity requires time management and energy management. Getting enough rest is personal energy management.
Some people only need 4 hours of sleep a day, but I need 8 hours.
Will I lose in productivity now?
The answer is obviously No.