9 Tips for Staying Productive During Depression
Miscellaneous / / February 28, 2022
One of the life hacks is to leave the apartment more often.
Three years ago, our heroine Masha was diagnosed with depression. This did not come as a surprise to her: the girl had noticed signs of this disorder in herself before. She practically stopped seeing her friends, did not answer their messages for a long time. In the corner of the kitchen there was a huge pile of boxes of ready meals.
And most importantly, it became more difficult for Masha to work. To just get out of bed, you had to make every effort - what to say about professional achievements?
All this made the girl start to figure out how to maintain productivity during depression. For Lifehacker, she collected some tips that not only helped her not lose her job, but also took some powerful steps towards overcoming her illness.
Masha Vedernikova
25 years. I went through depression 1.5 years ago. The name has been changed at the request of the heroine.
1. Sign up with a psychotherapist
Captain's advice, but he helped me! I had no prejudices about the psychologist: they say that only the very sick go to him. I knew it was a good practice—even if people have much milder symptoms than I do.
Only the lack of money stopped me: according to my calculations, I had to give about 25% of my monthly salary for consultations. This is a rather serious amount, and I thought for a long time: “Do I really need this? Maybe you should stop winding snot around your fist and just start working?
But now I'm glad I didn't give up on the idea. It seems to me that many (like me up to a certain point) are sure that “productivity” is about the fact that you need to work more, better, more intensively. However, without recreation and positive emotions will not work to be professionally effective.
Therefore, an appointment with a psychologist was an important step towards recovery and well-being, and these are the basic conditions for productivity.
By the way, as a result, the monthly amount for the services of a psychologist was reduced to 15%. I arranged with him for an online consultation every 10 days instead of face-to-face meetings once a week. The sessions helped me, but they were not enough, so I had to read a lot myself and do additional tasks.
2. Adjust your performance expectations
While recovering, I came across adviсeA therapist’s guide to staying productive when you’re depressed or heartbroken / Quartz Megan Bruno, psychotherapist, writer and presenter podcast The Failure Factor. She wrote that mental health is like a computer operating system. When everything is in order, the brain works like a brand new Mac with one program open. But when you are depressed, disturbing thoughts constantly scroll through your head, which slows down the rest of the "programs" in the system.
Since my mental disorder was directly related to perfectionism, the inability to do the job perfectly caused new negative emotions. I had to admit that until I figured out the hardware, I was unlikely to be able to work as well as before.
The first and main advice that helped me: do not expect a sensation from yourself. If you can only get into work 30% of your normal state, expect a 30% result. Instead of self-criticism, it is important to try to have compassion for yourself.
3. Set SMART Goals
SMART is a system for setting goals, according to which they should be:
- specific
- measurable
- achievable
- realistic
- tied to time.
Same Megan Bruno advisedA therapist’s guide to staying productive when you’re depressed or heartbroken / Quartz formulate tasks as follows: instead of "I will make a presentation tomorrow" say "from 12 to 14 o'clock I will be in a cafe, where I will outline the content of the presentation."
This hack helped me reduce my anxiety and feel less overwhelmed. And the achievement of realistic goals slightly increased the confidence that I was sorely lacking at the time.
4. Discipline yourself with external factors
Self-discipline was not easy for me and at the best of times. But during the depression, intrinsic motivation completely decreased and it became even more difficult to follow a banal daily routine. In order to improve the state, it was necessary to plan tasks rigorously.
Michael McCullough Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami He speaks: Routine is like mental butlers. Once you have established schedulemental processes automatically trigger the desired behavior.”
So, I painted how I see my every day, and tried to stick to this to-do list with repetitive actions. I was disciplined by various factors:
- special applications for screen time control;
- several alarm clocks that rang a couple of times a day - otherwise I might not notice, for example, how morning flows into lunch;
- designation of adequate (!) deadlines for the delivery of some task in correspondence, even if colleagues did not demand it;
- soft reminders from friends about important tasks (I asked them about this in advance);
- working meetings.
I knew intellectually that berating myself for lack of intrinsic motivation was not a good idea. But at first it was difficult for me to get used to not chastise myself for not wanting to do something “from the heart”. And then it became easier: discipline helped not to miss deadlines too much.
5. Delegate tasks
Despite the fact that I wanted to be combative and active, many things bored me. In this case, counseling psychologist Joseph Luciani recommendedReframe What You Think About Depression / Everyday Health ask colleagues and family members to take over some of your tasks.
For example, with a flatmate, we agreed to chip in for cleaning, and I asked my manager to reduce some of my tasks in a new project.
6. Develop self-care skills
Megan Bruno offersA therapist’s guide to staying productive when you’re depressed or heartbroken / Quartz two ways to take care of yourself. The first is the one that distracts. For example, rock climbing, jewelry making and other activities that require full concentration.
The second is the one that helps us process emotions. For example, keeping a diary, composing music, drawing. Some classes combine these two methods - for example, yoga.
I started keep a diary. Since I had a catastrophically little time spent with a psychologist, the notes helped me structure my thoughts and not fall into very deep emotional pits.
And I also began to please myself with some little things. For example, a friend gave me a set of bath bombs, there were 20 of them, and every evening I gave myself a romantic bath. By the way, I also included it in my daily schedule!
Early in my therapy, I told the psychologist that I had always found it difficult to make time for myself. For example, in the evening, after work, I simply did not see the point in resting. After all, there are so many things you can do!
The psychologist helped me understand that rest is a necessary reset, and perhaps if I include it in my to-do list, it will be perceived by me as a necessary task. And so it happened.
7. Focus more on the outside world
Depression immerses the brain in a tangle of sad and disturbing thoughts. To counter this in everyday life, you can try to concentrate on the objects of the outside world, advisesReframe What You Think About Depression / Everyday Health Joseph Luciani.
For example, when you are washing dishes, feel the water on your hands, listen to how the towel rubs the plate. If on a work call you notice how your thoughts begin to wander, try pinching yourself and focusing on the sensations. Is this your skin? Are these your fingers? It hurts?
8. Get out of the apartment more often
Working from home may seem attractive, but it is fraught with many dangers. Sitting at the table (at best, without getting out of bed at worst), I noticed that my hand was reaching out for a new episode of the series or watching a video on TikTok.
AdviceA therapist’s guide to staying productive when you’re depressed or heartbroken / Quartz Megan Bruno helped to avoid such sudden movie marathons, for which I would later blame myself. She recommends going to a cafe, library or co-working space more often so as not to work from home. This helped not to be distracted by home hobbies.
9. Set boundaries
Some friends thought that being among people would have a good effect on my condition. Everyone offered support and bombarded me with suggestions to go somewhere. But I felt that bars and movies were more of a hindrance to my recovery. I didn't want to be in public places.
Yes, sometimes I needed some kind of mass events, but most of the time I wanted to be left alone.
Doctor of Psychology Henry Cloud in his book writesG. cloud. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life on this occasion: “Boundaries help us keep the good inside and the bad outside. But establishing them inevitably involves taking responsibility for your choice.
Friends and relatives sincerely want to help you, but they don't always know how to do it. Honesty with them will help you prevent disputes and conflicts.
Read also🧐
- How to be a Good Friend to a Depressed Person
- How Depression Made Me an Early Bird and a New Approach to Sleep Made Me Superhuman
- "I didn't know why I should wake up." Personal story about living with depression