Your productivity is determined by your innate motivation and urgency to complete a task.
But they are not enough, as it could get blocked by your poor habits and even your environment.
You can break your default habits, but it’s impossible to change your environment. I learnt this the hard way, in the past three months.
- My city, Delhi became the second most polluted city in the world with AQI surpassing 1000.
- Headaches, untreatable cold, and brain fog has become a default mode for most of the delihites.
Productivity and motivation both hit rock bottom when I had to pause my top two productivity booster — running and breathing exercises.
Your environment can wreck your brain health more than your habits, becuase habits are an amalgamation of your environment.
Here are the habits that improved my environment for better productivity.
The lethal air that killed my productivity
You take for granted a basic necessity while my city is getting converted into a gas chamber with every passing minute.
Fresh air is a basic human right that millions of people don’t have access to and their polluted cities are shortening their lifespan.
You need fresh clean air for more than just survival as poor quality air can harm your health and your productivity with it.
Headaches, teary eyes, and brain fog have become everyday hinderance for us even when staying indoors.
Productivity took a hit as we struggled to breathe when our city got converted into a toxic dump overnight.
The AQI was so high that the air purifiers lost the count after it breached the 500 mark. Staying indoors in a self-impossed lockdown was the only reasonable solution.
It worked to some extent but then the PTSD from the lockdown hit hard, so we were back to our old ways.
Here’s what you can do:-
Cherish the fresh air you get to breathe everyday becuase you never know when your biggest wish would become an outdoor run that you can’t go on.
Meditate under the bright blue sky as long as you have a chance before it’s becomes murky grey owing to the pollution.
Exercise, meditation, and breathwork have been proven to boost productivity and boost brain power as well.
Brain fog became the aftereffect of overstimulation
Staying indoors doesn’t leave much options for entertainment. You either stay glued to your couch surfing netflix or social media.
Devices become your go-to entertainment sources, you cling to them to keep you brain busy.
But they often lead to overstimulation which makes it difficult to concentrate, your focus takes a hit and it takes you longer to complete a task.
But there’s nothing else to do when you’re stuck at home, your instinct is to lean on technology for comfort and entertainment.
But the overstimulation from the insane content consumption is killing your focus and brain health a little bit every day.
It eats your time and prevents you from following the habits that are proven to boost brain health.
One such habit that we’re losing to technology is reading, which is proven to slow down cognitive decline as it facilitates connection between the two hemisphere.
Moreover it provides mental stimulation, reduces stress, and improves sleep, adn boost your knowledge as well.
Yet we read less with every passing year. Reading habits is at a risk owing to these digital contraptions that keep us busy and occupied. We have lost the love of written word.
Here’s what you can do:-
As a writer I am obliged to read more and better content to imporve my writing. It’s the only way to become a better writer if you’re avoiding writing.
And it’s been a challenge to write consistently in the past three months, so I have shifted my energy to read more books.
Poems have always intamated me but in these past months I have learned the art of appreciating a good poem.
Read more, pick a book whichever one you like. Don’t let a genre or any form of literature intimate you.
You journey as a better reader starts with one word.
A habit that wrecks productivity and brain health
Technology has facilitated a long term sabbatical from the real world, you can get everything at your doorstep and do your work without leaving your bed.
Modern hermits have taken upon themselves to avoid the real world for asvitation long as they possibly can and to stay locked in their rooms.
This high dependence on technology is killing your social life. You deny invitations and ignore the world to live on your own terms.
But this stubborn attitude will land you in trouble because biologically you’re still programmed as a social creature who needs to consistent communication and strong bonds.
It became easier to get back into my shell when I was forced to stay at home to avoid the toxic dump my city has become. Pollution became my go-to excuse to avoid socialization.
Social connections make you more attentive, boost focus and improve nueral networking in the brain.
As an introvert I get overstimulated by excess socialization, so I used to batch them throughout the week to keep in touch with friends and family.
But this self-imposed lockdown brought out the hermit in me as I refused to leave the house for a week straight and spent most of it locked in my room.
Introverts need more time to recharge as they have low social battery, but taking off a week from the world is not justified.
You need high quality social relations to support you through the tough times and you can’t cement your bond without spending quality time with your friends.
So, take an initiative and reach out to your friends more if you don’t want to end up lonely in this very lonely world.
Here’s what you can do:-
Socialization is a part of daily life that you shouldn't ignore, yet we get tangled up in the mess of technology and ruin our social life.
Chatting online will never equate to meeting your friends in person. So, initiate conversations, make plans, most importantly keep your plans.
So, go out have conversations with acquaintances to strengthen your bond with them and keep in touch with your friend.
Conclusion
You can break your default habits with time but changing your environment is the most challenging task as you’re bound by your circumstances and even location.
I live in the second most polluted city in the world where AQI often surpass 1000. We’re stuck in this gas chamber of a city for three months every year.
Regulations don’t work so we have to take precautions to protect our brain health from the toxic environment.
These habits are the worst bet that will kill your brain health and productivity in matter of few weeks.