How to Overcome Lack of Productivity Due to Depression

I am Momina, a content marketer based in Pakistan. I absolutely identify myself as a creative person as creativity to me is my ability to create something — from my experiences and through my unique perspectives. I have been writing since a young girl, bringing ideas to life, giving my fears and anxieties a home in my journal. And since I am managing social media and content production for my company, I have to be creative every day at my job too and I love it.

I got diagnosed with clinical depression in my undergraduate. It was one of the darkest times of my life. 

I was crying all the time. I didn't find any joy in doing things. 

But most importantly, I was slacking off work and studies. I couldn't even read books, which is something I enjoy the most.

I just couldn't do anything. 

No matter how much I convinced myself to get out of bed, start on an assignment, and read a book, I could not — which made everything worse. 

I later learned that depression is one of the leading causes of lower productivity and lack of motivation. According to research, even minor levels of depression are associated with a loss of productivity. 

Depression — Effects on Productivity 

Depression impacts over 17 million American adults each year. During the pandemic, remote work also caused an alarming increase in mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.

It can be because the lines between personal and professional life can easily disappear, causing major disturbances in your daily routine. You might feel like there is nothing to look forward to, and you don't have an outlet to talk about your feelings of burnout and loneliness with fellow employees. 

So, what to do to overcome depression? 

According to Joseph Luciani, Ph.D., a psychologist in New York City and the author of Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression, you can be productive despite depression if you see it as a habit and not an illness. By viewing depression as a tendency rather than an illness, you get behind the wheel, so to speak, and start taking the lead on your daily routine. 

When I finally admitted that I needed help and started therapy and medications, it felt like a dense fog lifted from my brain. I worked with my therapist to create a plan for me that significantly helped, and I am going to talk about those steps below. 

• Journal Daily 

I can't stress enough the importance of journaling and how it did wonders for me. I first started journaling in high school and eventually gave up on it during university. During therapy, my therapist encouraged me to start writing again. 

You can journal in different ways. A few of them are: 

• Talk about whatever happened during the day, the things you learned, anything that stood out of the ordinary for you. 

• Journal according to a prompt. You can easily find different prompts like, "Write about one of your happiest memories? What has your anxiety taught you about yourself?" 

• Write two things that made you happy and grateful and two things that made you annoyed or bad about yourself. When I started journaling again, this method worked best for me as it kept my emotions in check. 

• Create a Schedule 

Without a daily schedule in place, you are easily tempted to stay in bed longer, binge-watch Netflix till the late hours of the night, or delay your chores. 

For me, it's very important to adhere to a strict routine. I feel like time is flying around without a schedule, and I am getting left behind. A pattern keeps me organized and focused. 

When creating your schedule, you should add small challenges for yourself every day. One example can be to get breakfast done by 8 am. This extra challenge will keep you motivated and help you prove to yourself that you can handle more than you think. 

Pearl Morbs, a social media expert, talks about how she tries to manage her depression, "If I'm trying to transition out of a depressive episode, I keep my task list to 1 item. It might be as simple as taking a shower. I don't try to return to doing all the things immediately."

• Set Clear Boundaries 

Setting boundaries isn't the easiest task, and even today, I find it difficult to say no or avoid situations that drain my energy. But boundaries help a lot. 

The thing with boundaries is — you need to learn what works for you and what doesn't, which situations drain your energy and leave you empty, and which friends make you happy and positive about yourself. You need to identify your limits and recognize what is helpful and what is too much. 

Dr. Henry Cloud, in his book "Boundaries: When to say yes, when to say no to take control of your life," said, "Boundaries help us keep the good in and the bad out. Setting boundaries inevitably involves taking responsibility for your choices. You are the one who makes them. You are the one who must live with their consequences."

When it comes to setting boundaries, you need to be honest with yourself and the people around you. It will help you avoid overwhelming interactions and disappointing conversations. 

Your friends and family will want to help you, but they won't always know the best way to do this. 

• Work out daily 

Research shows that exercise and physical activity can help improve mood, reduce anxiety, and make you less likely to develop depression again. From personal experience, I can say that it's not super easy to get into a workout routine every day. You don't have to begin with intensive exercises. What helps is if you start doing small physical activities every day like doing house chores, walking around the block, or gardening. You should exercise three to five times per week for 30 to 60 minutes. Once you make it a habit, don't forget to continue challenging yourself. 

• Be Kind to Yourself 

People who suffer from depression and anxiety are often too hard on themselves. We are constantly disappointed in ourselves because of our illness and how it hinders our productivity and motivation. 

But you need to remember to be kind to yourself. A friend once said to me, "If you are not going to judge me for it, then don't judge yourself for it." and I remind myself this whenever I start being hard on myself. 

Speak kindly to your inner self. Give yourself the grace to make mistakes and learn from them. Be nice to yourself if you were unable to finish a task today. 

Yes, depression makes you want to stay in bed all day, binge-watch, and binge-eat. It makes you unproductive and unmotivated. But the only way to overcome it is with baby steps. So start building a routine for yourself and writing your journal every day. Therapy helps, and you should always consider it. But even with therapy, the best work to overcome depression will be the work you do on yourself and just know that you can do it all.