Feeling like you're not being productive enough

Emma shares her poem on success and productivity to remind us to be kinder to ourselves when reflecting on what we’ve achieved in a day

- Emma Carlisle  

I wrote this poem during the first lockdown when the sudden change, loss of routine and social interactions left me struggling for motivation. I felt a lot of pressure to be making the most of the extra time I had gained from not having to go anywhere and was beating myself up every night before bed for not having been (in my eyes) productive enough that day. I feel that the concept of “productivity” can easily become quite toxic and impact your mental health. Therefore, it’s important to remind ourselves that all the little things we do each day like looking after ourselves, putting out the bins etc are all worthy of a pat on the back, as with every little step we take we are progressing. So if you ever have an “off” day and start getting annoyed at yourself for not having done enough, I hope you can bring to mind this poem and use it to help you change the way you’re judging your day and consequently be kinder to yourself. You’re doing a lot better than you think.

Find out more about what you can do to improve your wellbeing on Student Space.

 

I’m Emma and I’m in the third year of a chemistry undergraduate degree. Having struggled with poor mental health on and off during my time as a student due to putting too much pressure on myself to do well academically, I hope to be able to give some advice to those facing similar struggles.