When we think about productivity, we think about the people who seem to get everything checked, done, and dusted off on an arbitrary ‘to do’ list. We think about the account manager who has more work, more clients, more logged hours. We think about the parent who gets the shopping list right, the kids bathed and off to school, the bake sale cookies made, the house spotlessly clean. We think about the student who get to all the classes on time, passes all the papers, does extra curricular activities, and even has time for a relationship. When it comes to productivity, we think that the people who do more are more productive.

While these examples seem like the perfectly put together life most of us dream of, it is also a recipe for burnout. The truth is, doing more is not a very sustainable way of living. When you get stuck in the mindset that you have to do more in order to be productive, you paint yourself into a corner and start a mindset of being busy for the sake of being busy. So, do you want to know the secret? The key to being more productive is to carve out time for self care.

Now you might be this person I’m talking about. The one who has all their meetings scheduled, their work deliverables in progress, and their social calendar packed with engagements. I salute you. Most of us though, need a breather. Most of us need to take time for self care.

Before you go and book a spa session, let me explain a bit further. Self care is more than just going to the spa or doing a face mask. It could be, but it is more than that. Self care is any deliberate action that you make time for in order to nurture your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing. At its very basic, self care is all about cultivating the relationship you have with yourself.

Take a step back. Do you like being the go to person for all things at work? Do you like having your social calendar filled to the brim? Do you like being able to take care of everyone, all the time? These are all things to aspire for but are outside of yourself. All of them are about other people. In order to be more productive, you have to invest in giving your whole self (mind, body, spirit) the care it needs in order to function and flourish at your highest level.

The science backs it up: people who invest in self care have better cognitive abilities. They have better focus and concentration and perform better over all. They don’t run themselves to the ground and they know when to take the time out to focus on themselves.

You are an investment, treat yourself as worthy.

Do you have self care tips that you want to share with us? Share them in the comments! Stay humble and hustle hard.

Written by Jaie O. The Help