Not getting enough done?  These two words can help.

Do you ever feel as if you aren’t getting enough done? This can be frustrating, and may also  lead to feelings of inadequacy. I am seeing this not only in my client conversations this week, but I feel it, too.

Often, when we feel productivity is lacking, it is because something in our environment has changed.

I love to think of it in terms of a production line in which bottles are getting produced and filled.  (This may be thanks to growing up in Milwaukee and watching a lot of Laverne and Shirley). The bottles on the production line are created smoothly and consistently, marching along in a line of satisfaction. It is a very robotic process.

This can be the case for our work, well, if we were mechanical beings. But, congratulations you are human!

So this visualization then can change to something like this: A family member needs us….a bottle doesn’t get filled.   We have a health issue…a bottle is left empty.  We experience fear or grief….a bottle falls and shatters. Then, to make matters worse, we look at our production line and are disappointed in ourselves that we can’t keep up with the process and keep trying to push through.

This is the time when it is most helpful to hit pause on our production line and take a moment to recognize why our expectations are off from reality as we sweep up the glass. 

Giving yourself space and grace is helpful here – Space to realign priorities and deadlines, and grace to know that in our humanness, there is still a different type of production available… our inner growth.

In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, he talks about getting 1% better every day.  That’s it.  1%.  With just small steps, big changes occur.  Sometimes we are so focused on our production that we don’t step back and notice what would strengthen the whole process in the long run.

Here are a few questions to consider if you are not feeling as productive as you would like:

• What dynamics have changed in your situation?
• In what ways can you provide yourself space and grace to recognize where you are in your process and whether to adjust your goals and expectations?
• What is the most important 1% to focus on now?
• How can you tap into others for support or relief?    

Your production line is whatever you make it – leaving space and grace strengthens your path forward so you can ignite what really matters.