I was recently invited to write a guest article about sustainable productivity. The publisher has graciously allowed me to share the article with you here today. A version of this article appears in the September edition of the journal Medical Writing
Editorial
Greetings from the croft! When I was growing up, my mother regularly reminded us about taking care of our health as it is our most important possession. I have to admit that during my teens and 20s, when I felt invincible, I would respond with a “Yeah, Mom” and roll my eyes. Then life happened, and I came to appreciate her words more and more on a personal and professional level. Learning how to optimise my health and make the right choices for myself so that I can be a productive individual for as long as possible has been a lifelong quest, and has become especially important as a freelance medical writer working from home. So you can imagine how happy I was when – in my late 40s – I met Mariella Franker, a scientific writer turned natural productivity coach for introverts. Our conversations have been filled with “aha” moments for me and I’m very thankful for Mariella’s contribution to this issue of the Crofter in which she shares her perspective and practical tips for sustaining our productivity.
Wishing you happy reading and many “aha” moments.
Best,
Kimi Uegaki ([email protected])
Section editor for The Crofter: Sustainable Communications
Freelance medical writers are well accustomed to the virtual workplace, often doing their work remotely and connecting with their clients through technology rather than in person.
Remote work offers some valuable advantages compared to working in the office, for example, increased flexibility and not being bound for set working hours or a fixed work location. Working remotely provides many options to create a highly personalised version of work-life balance.
However, if you don’t pay attention, the boundaries between your personal life and your work life can become obscured, and you find yourself working all the time, spending less time with your loved ones, and not getting enough rest or caring for your health. In short: you are further away from the lifestyle you may aspire to.
The answer to this is to focus on sustainable productivity from an individual standpoint and to pay attention to your specific needs. Specifically for introverts, I’ve included three helpful practices to stay mindful about your needs on a day-to-day basis.
What is sustainable productivity?
Read the full article on LinkedIn
Figure 1. Infographic: An individual approach to sustainable productivity
A sustainable productivity approach will be important for remote workers to adapt to the recent and future changes of the remote workforce. Here, I summarise what productivity is and what it is not and I include 3 helpful daily practices for sustainable productivity on an individual level. This infographic was designed using resources from flyclipart.com and vecteezy.com. CC-BY Mariella Franker, The Franker Message.
