5 Lessons from Anna Codrea-Rado

Last week, I spoke to the incredible Anna, whose thoughts on success and productivity have completely transformed the outlook I have towards my own.

Here are 5 takeaways from our conversation: 

Productivity dysmorphia is a common experience

Anna coined the phrase in a bid to describe the feeling of not being able to see one’s own success, and in doing so, has given us all a way to verbalise what seems to be an increasingly common experience.

Existing alongside our ambition, we put unbelievable effort into our work whilst simultaneously robbing ourselves of the ability to enjoy the fruits of that productivity.

It is different from Imposter Syndrome, having nothing to do with a lack of confidence in one’s own ability and instead of having everything to do with a persistent perception problem when it comes to understanding the significance of it.

Anna pins the cause of this phenomenon on a few things, namely burnout, alienation from our work, and the way social media is warping our view of success.

Social media has warped our view of success

To understand how this has happened, we have to look no further than our own engagement habits when it comes to social platforms.

Anna asks us to consider the types of content we are quickest to interact with - think engagement shots, pregnancy and new job announcements - and the announcement culture that is emerging as a result.

Huge life milestones are being reduced to curated snapshots on a screen and are being rewarded through likes and subsequent preferential treatment from the algorithm. In turn, we feel as though we are entirely surrounded by people at the peak of their personal and professional lives.

We aren’t seeing the work that went into those moments. The years of disagreements and self-reflection that went into the engagement; the 100s of unanswered applications that went before that singular post. We assume it came easy, and question why it seems to be coming so much harder for us; diminishing our success because it feels less impressive to have had to work at it.

We need to take control of our free time

Scheduled fun is an oxymoron we all try to avoid. 

But, for anyone in a slump, the power of doing so cannot be underestimated.

It can be as simple as blocking out 30 minutes in your calendar to take a walk between meetings; buying your favourite dessert for after dinner or getting up 10 minutes earlier to leave time to style your hair in the way you feel most confident.

Or it can be as regimented as joining a book club, starting a local sports team or attending a weekly pottery class.

Ultimately, it’s the intentional act of acknowledging the things that you enjoy and making a concerted effort to account for them in your day.

You don’t have to be good at your hobbies

This reminder may be simple, but it’s so important.

Too often we tie enjoyment up in productivity and ability. In turn, the hobbies we once turned to for relaxation become competitive. We consider monetising them, turning them into a side-hustle, and obsessed with improvement. They cease to become an escape.

By opening yourself up to activities outside of your comfort zone, and embracing your lack of skill, you open yourself up to so many more avenues for genuine enjoyment.

Take time to look inward AND outward

This is key.

You cannot self-care yourself out of every situation. And we need to remove the pressure we put on both ourselves and each other to do so.

Instead, we need to be taking the time to look at the external factors that may also be influencing our current situation, and factor them into our response.

You can listen to Anna's full episode here: https://bit.ly/3A86ZxL