Hello everyone!

As we return to the semester and the academic season, starting or, like me, getting back to a routine can be challenging, as it takes a long adjustment period to establish a routine suited for optimal productivity. The reason it may be challenging is that we need a clear headspace to be focused and motivated. To achieve the headspace, we need to tackle the stress and anxiety preventing us from getting on track.

There are different definitions of productivity; after looking at all the ways it is defined, the objectives of productivity are quantity, quality, and efficiency. Productivity, in essence, can be described as a meeting of time, attention, and energy and are the essential factors behind the objectives: setting and spending time for that task, paying needed attention to the task, and putting energy into the task- getting good results with little effort wasted. Productivity gets closer to a goal, sustaining a helpful and meaningful routine, making it optimal productivity.

Something as simple as breathing goes a long way in helping one destress and works wonders in helping us get on track. Slow breathing is a technique that focuses the person on being centered in the present. It lets the stress and anxiety that are occupying the mind, blocking clarity and motivation, wither and fade away, supporting a positive headspace and developing a routine to get on track.

Decluttering is a great activity for reducing stress, getting a clear headspace, and directing attention to dedicated tasks in the routine building for one’s productivity to get on track. Visual clutter can produce stress, occupying the mind and contributing to procrastination, while a tidy space can help us think clearly and stay focused on our tasks. Have you ever considered the idea of thought decluttering? Just like we organize and get rid of unnecessary things in our physical surroundings, we can also organize thoughts and clear out unnecessary, negative ones.

Mindfulness, the practice of recentering attention at the moment in a non-judgmental way, is another tool to help us get back on track by easing anxiety and stress, providing clarity and focus, and creating motivation and productivity.

The USG’s weekly bulletin email shares workshops the counseling center hosts to help understand and participate in mindfulness as a valuable skill development for managing and reducing stress and anxiety, fostering productivity. In the workshop, you are told the benefits of mindfulness and participate in the practice, taking note of a reoccurring emotion. By practicing mindfulness, you can identify that reoccurring emotion accompanying stress and anxiety that may be stopping you from a clear headspace needed to be productive.

So, there are a few steps to get on track: breathing, decluttering, and mindfulness; these steps benefit mental health and enhance productivity by increasing clarity and focus, helping us beat procrastination and find our motivation, getting us on track. Let’s do this!