If you are an undergraduate student in Indonesia, you have probably felt the overwhelming pressure of gaining achievements, initiating projects, or simply just maintaining your grades among your peers. Oftentimes, we compare ourselves to our peers using unfair lenses. We ask ourselves, "Why can't I be like x? Why is my learning pace slower than Y?" These questions can motivate us to perform better, but they can also lead us to toxic productivity.
Some people choose the path of toxic productivity to cope with their feelings of missing out. They take on far too many tasks and say yes to way too many responsibilities. At the time, this may lead to a temporary sense of achievement. But in the long term, we realize that we did these things on autopilot only as a means to cope with the emptiness that we feel. We realize that we did not become one step closer to our goals despite the hard work we put in. When we have too many tasks, we are more prone to be overwhelmed. This results in the inability to perform at a maximum level in all of our tasks.
We often forget that our lives are products of our own habits. If we have bad habits, they will result in a bad quality of life. Here in su-re.co, the concept of one percent improvement is very emphasized. There is one quote from the book Atomic Habits that I use as a reminder whenever I feel that I am about to take on too much work, "Making a choice that is 1 percent better or 1 percent worse seems insignificant at the moment, but over the span of moments that make up a lifetime these choices determine the difference between who you are and who you could be."
Never underestimate the power of a good study routine and a consistent bedtime. Whenever you feel insecure about your progress, remember that life is a marathon, not a race. You are on your way to success, so don't forget to be kind to yourself today. :)
"Success is the product of daily habits - not once-in-a-lifetime transformations"
- James Clear