About being able to or not being able to be productive

Productivity adventure of a UX person

This year, I set myself a goal of producing at least one written content each month. In November, I had difficulties in producing and could not produce the content I wanted in quality. As a UX person and psychologist with a constant desire to produce, I stopped and took a look at myself.

And I said, then let me write why I can’t produce content this month. 😅

I had a bit of a hard time writing this article. I thought of leaving the article as a draft and publishing it in a modern art flavor, saying, look, I couldn’t even write it. Then I decided to finish it. Enjoy reading. 🍀

As can be seen from the introduction, I cannot stop producing and I want to say something about this. On the one hand, I like this situation, on the other hand, it is sometimes really tiring.

Let’s go into some detail on this subject, taking into account our feelings and thoughts.

Why am I producing?

• Since the day I met with the user experience, I try to produce as much as I can and contribute to the UX field and people. Medium articles, Slack communities, YouTube live streams, participation in podcasts, hours of one-on-one mentoring with people of all ages and countless private conversations… It gives me great pleasure to contribute and interact with people in some way, while also teaching me a lot.
• In the field of user experience, our main resource is people. I think that I have learned a lot from people and their experiences and it would be beneficial for everyone to follow this path in their career.
• I have received really valuable feedbacks about “things” I have produced and published, and this has been one of the most important factors that motivated me to produce. I would also like to mention that I did not earn any money from any of the content I mentioned as productivity.

• Producing makes you visible. If the value and effort you produce is not ordinary, if it has its own smell and taste, make sure that it is visible, if you know how to show it. What does it mean to know how to show? Having a piece of equipment and being able to use it (in a good sense) are two different issues. You can fall in love with someone, but if you don’t tell or explain it to that person in some way, it’s impossible to turn it into a relationship. Likewise, what you produce will exist as long as it is seen and you can show your work as deserved. By the way, I am one of the advocates of the idea that art is for society :)
• Additionally, I am responsible for furthering the Yolda.com Tech Medium. I am interested in the layout, content, editorial and visual presentation parts of the articles and their communication with people. These sections are also enjoyable in terms of contributing to the production phase, and as you review many articles, you inevitably learn certain things from what you read. Your different muscles are also working when communicating with people, determining the content of the broadcast and planning it.

Why did I want to write this article?

As I said in the introduction, I set a goal for myself to publish at least 1 medium article every month this year. Some months I have published 2–3 articles. On November, I feel a little tired mentally. I already have 6–7 articles in draft form that I can’t find motivation to complete. I feel like it will be over if I sit down and gather around, but it doesn’t.

• Sometimes I think we should accept that some things should not happen and that we can get tired of these situations that require creativity and productivity. More precisely, I started to think and accept it :) I am writing this article to express my feelings between this awareness and the feelings of regret and relief that comes with it and to tell something about myself.
• I started graduate school this year. My life is moving in a tiring and rush nicely. When I said produce at work, produce at school, produce in your own life, I started to feel like I was drowning in a pool of productivity and thought that I needed to float a bit to survive.

There are many negativities in the country and in the world. Earthquakes happen, animals are slaughtered, we are exposed to many political and economic evils. When these things happen one after another, after I fulfill my main responsibilities, it is more difficult for me to do arbitrary things that we can call extra. While keeping our minds full all the time keeps us alive, on the other hand, it prevents or delays us from feeling the truth and living our emotions fully. I think it is not good to ignore things by pushing them into the background . It feels healthier to listen to ourselves a little, and even if we are not doing something, accept it and not do it by telling ourselves.

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And actually not producing requires an effort in itself. The dynamism of producing regularly for a long time and the feeling that what you produce is rewarding creates a burden when you do not want to produce at some point, and I think it is an experience to live it. I can’t imagine what people with millions of followers are going through :)

So, what now?

Nobody forces me to produce, nobody gives me a medal when I produce something. I will gladly continue to produce when I can involve myself in the production phase in a pleasant and peaceful way. When I do not produce, I will not be burdened with myself.

I am working on my small draft articles and research analysis. I will write whenever I feel I can. I have never produced to produce. There was always something that triggered me. As it continues to happen, it will continue as long as it finds the right time.

I think everyone should produce in their own way, more or less, often or for a long time. How productive you will be is entirely up to you. The main thing we should not forget is that nothing is more important than our psychological and physical health.

At this point, I would like to thank everyone who reads, watches and supports in some way the content I have created. ❤️

If you have something to say about productivity, I would like to listen and talk. You can always reach me on LinkedIn, I will be very happy.