When my friend Ginger drew my attention to a Modern Motivation podcast I realized why I felt anxious and stuck. It’s fascinating to understand how our brain works and how we can change its chemistry to be more productive. 

I didn’t know there was an acquisition mode, a condition we get into when we look for inspiration by clicking numerous posts and visiting endless websites. This activity produces plenty of dopamine boosters, increasing the level of stimulation for novelty information and slowly we crave for more. We head for distraction on the internet or TV, like some crave for a drug.

The good news is that being in the present mode (the here and now mentality) helps recover our productivity. So I started a stimulation fasting by cancelling old irrelevant newsletters, and cutting down on my time on the Internet. No more checking my phone early in the morning and late at night. This way I activated the roles of serotonin and endorphins in my brain which helped me focus on what I was doing, and it calmed my mind in the process. I didn’t realize calmness and productivity were intrinsically linked. In fact, I have more ideas and I am more creative!

I renewed with a less anxious life, and even greater productivity through calmness. Instead of a click on the internet I cross a task off on my list and I get a small dopamine boost (the reward molecule) that feels good. Suddenly I have many fresh ideas, I feel excited to start the new year and people are noticing!

Wishing you all a healthy, productive year!