Be The Best Version Of You With Compassionate Productivity
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What is Compassionate Productivity?
From Task Lists and Time Pressure to Psychological Safety and Resilience
Productivity has traditionally been focused on one main objective: how can I get my team or individual to produce more in the short term. We educated people on how to get things done faster by using a particular set of tools, tactics and tips designed to increase productivity… at all costs.
We did become more productive as a society using many of the traditional time management tools, but we also created more burnout, stress, and mental disease and overwhelm. We forgot the longer term perspective.
As times have changed, and the work and personal environments have merged, and the amount of items calling for our attention has become overwhelming. From phone apps, to emails, to texts and social media, and a 24/7 digital infrastructure that can never be allowed to go down for most businesses, our modern work world has become too stressful for normal people’s safety and health. A new paradigm is needed.
From Tools and Tactics to The Whole Person
What the traditional approach lacks is a way to increase the psychological safety and resilience of the team or individual. Only now have we recognized that this must be created by mindful tools that reinforce our ability to perform and achieve our goals. Otherwise burnout results. Today, in addition to burnout, we have the very real fear of infection. This has brought the psychology of productivity back to the forefront of everyone’s mind.
The new psychology of productivity looks at the human bring first, and what their essential needs are in order to be productive. People need to feel safe, inspired, motivated, etc. in order to use the tools they have to produce on a daily basis.
Here is one major element of what is needed to be more productive through these difficult times:
Resilience training: High performance compassion
Employees need tools to be resilient and inspired.
The first place to look for resilience is in the self talk of the employee. Is your self talk primarily negative, judgmental, and self defeating? You need to practice self compassion.
Research shows that the more self compassion we have, the more grit we have, the quicker we recover from adversity, and the more positive risks we will take in our lives.
High performers especially need consistent self compassion, because they are being called upon to perform at a high level for longer periods of time.
How to Practice Self Compassion:
• Stop the negative self talk.
• Treat yourself as you would treat someone else performing a difficult task for your team.
• Write down phrases you would use to encourage someone you admire. Say those to yourself.
• Repeat one or all of the following phrases to yourself: “may I be happy, may I feel safe, may I have love, may I feel joy.”
