WE171: Unproductive Habits and Self-Reflection

September 18, 2023

- Invajy

I can work without supervision.
We always say this during job interviews, along with positive perspectives and attributes, just to get the job. But are we really committed to it? Just be honest. I am aware that occasionally you put off doing tasks at work or deviate from your normal duties. Things that could distract you and have an impact on your ability to concentrate Once you become fixated on other things, it can be difficult for your mind to switch tasks, and you may later realize that you spent more time engaging in your unproductive habit than working on your actual tasks. I'm talking based on my personal experience.

Being Productive Online Instead of Working

I can't deny the fact that I am one of those who procrastinate at work, and rather than finishing tasks at hand, I have the unproductive habit of checking my phone and being productive online instead. Well, should I call it an unproductive habit but productive hours? When no one is monitoring my work and I take the chance to do my online side hustles, like writing articles and engaging in the Hive community, for instance.

During days that I feel bored at work, I have this habit of watching movies and TV series instead of finishing as many tasks as possible. At the end of the day, work that is left unattended and unfinished will be added to the next day's tasks, making the next day a hectic one.

Let's say it's a positive act of entertaining myself, getting more sources of income, and enhancing my ability to handle different tasks. But work is work. And in that way, I am breaking the assurance I gave to my boss that I could work without supervision. And whether you admit it or not, you are like me sometimes as well.

And due to this habit of holding my phone at work, I developed cubital tunnel syndrome, which affects both of my arms. This syndrome causes discomfort in my body, which affects my work performance as well. Whose fault is it? Of course, I am alone.

Prioritizing Work Over Health

I may have unproductive habits, but when I do my best work, I am committed to it to the point that I don't rest the whole day until my duty is done. For some, it is being productive and hardworking. But the fact is, it is an unproductive habit that everyone should mind.

Stubborn self gets poor health. I couldn't agree more. Despite the things I do to achieve a healthy lifestyle, it's just tough to maintain it because of a lack of self-discipline. Consistency is needed to achieve a healthy lifestyle, and I lack it. Most of the time, I prioritize work over health. I tend to focus more on work and listen less to body complaints because I always think that home remedies can solve any pain and discomfort. But it doesn't work all the time, yet I do nothing but wait until the pain subsides.

These two unproductive habits affected my well-being. That's a fact that I can't lie about. There are moments when my arms are in pain due to my bad habit. This makes me regret things and wish I had done better. I did some therapy: acupuncture, yoga, body massage, compression, and other things to heal this syndrome, but they weren't effective.

_{Photos from my acupuncture therapy in 2020}

Long-term rest and regular medication are also necessary, not just therapy, to heal this cubital tunnel syndrome. But that is also another problem since I can't just stop working for a long period of time.

Breaking The Unproductive Habits and Self-reflection

I've been trying to break this bad habit by limiting my phone use. That's one of the reasons why I am sometimes inactive on this platform. I admit, I still use my phone during rest hours, but I am into watching entertaining shows and resting, not tapping it the whole time. I developed back pain recently due to overwork, and that is also another health issue to deal with. So I still continue doing massage and yoga every night before sleeping to alleviate the pain.

I really hope things will work because I actually don't like going to hospitals and health centers. Aside from getting a lot of medication, which I don't like to take, it is useless and a waste of money. I did that before, and that's why I'm claiming this. I just wasted time and money.

Reflecting on the past three years of doing side hustles in blogging, crypto, and other stuff, I keep repeating the same mistakes that led me to this health condition. Oftentimes, I would ask myself if these were still worth it. I'm just blind to the fact that my hard work has compromised my health. Just because I have goals, I have to ignore some vital aspects. I wonder if I stop, will it change everything? Will I get better? But if I continue, I'm just allowing history to repeat itself.

If these habits were eliminated, I would simply have a better and healthier life. But then again, everything is useless without self-discipline, so that must be strictly imposed. It's just hard to let go of something that has already been part of my system. So it is up to me to find ways to effectively balance work, life, and side hustles and make them consistent for the betterment of my well-being.

This is in response to the Weekend-Engagement 171 with the topic:

What is the most unproductive habit you have, why do you do it/continue and have you tried to break the habit? What would your life look like if you eliminated it?

Thanks for your time and happy new week..

(All photos are mine)

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