3 Ways Gratitude Can Boost Productivity

Here in Texas this past week, we’ve had some unprecedented winter weather: single-digit temperatures, 6+ inches of snow, ice everywhere. I’ve lived in Texas most of my life, and I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve had snow. Never has it stayed on the ground more than 24 hours. Never have we had uprooted trees from all the ice. Never have we had rolling power blackouts and gone without power in the winter. Never has school been cancelled for an entire week due to winter conditions. Until now.

If this past year hasn’t taught us enough lessons, this wintery week has brought gratitude and the joy of simple things back to front and center. We have shelter. We have coats and gloves. We have amazing neighbors who look after each other. Things aren’t too bad.

So, I started thinking about the relationship between gratitude and productivity. Does a regular gratitude practice help you maintain focus and purpose? I believe so. Here are three ways gratitude can help you be more productive.

1.) Take advantage of what you have.

Why wait until you lose something--power, internet, time--to appreciate the value of what you had? If you take 5 minutes in your day to think of all the ways you are lucky--all the ways you are set up for success--the value of those things re-emerge. Try making a list of 3-5 things you are grateful for. Then, take a look at that list and see how you can make the most of these valuable things.

Today, I have power, internet, and 45 minutes of uninterrupted time. Awesome! How can I truly appreciate and embrace this gift? Immediately, my brain rushes to find a high-priority task that requires all three and the focus to get it done. If you create the value and the urgency, the clarity and focus will follow.

2.) Let go of judgement.

Okay, slight woowoo alert. When you focus on gratitude and appreciation, you elevate your positive mindset and vibrational frequency. This means that those thoughts of “I can’t” or “I should” diminish to make room for thoughts of possibility (“I can”) and openness (“what if”). It becomes easier to have a growth mindset and look for solutions versus a fixed mindset that only sees barriers.

When you’re operating from a more negative headspace, even simple tasks become more difficult. Ideas don’t flow as easily. Things take twice as long, and you see all the ways that things get in your way. You start blaming yourself, others, and circumstances. It can be quite the downward spiral sucking your time and energy. We’ve all been there before. No fun. Let’s not go back.

By starting off your day or work time with a focus on gratitude, you are more likely to see the positive in your current situation. For example, this power outage allowed for family bonding time, memorable experiences...and gave me a great idea for a blog post! Instead of barriers and judgement, gratitude allows for ingenuity and solutions. It’s a pathway to productivity and flow.

“Instead of barriers and judgement, gratitude allows for ingenuity and solutions. It’s a pathway to productivity and flow.”

3.) Regain passion and excitement.

When you’re in the midst of a project, a crisis, or just the routine of daily life, it can be tough to see the forest for the trees. There’s the details to work out and the fires to extinguish. We lose our big picture, and with it, the passion and excitement that had us start this process in the first place.

A gratitude practice allows you to reconnect to what’s most important. From that place, your mind will naturally tune back into the big picture. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with your vision and look at things from a higher view. That’s where you’ll find that original passion, purpose, and excitement. Then, you can bring those feelings with you as you take on daily tasks.

You may discover that after reconnecting with your passion and purpose, tasks and projects become simpler, faster, and easier to complete. Goals become clearer. Rhythm and flow become easier to find.