Have you ever found yourself in a state of unproductivity? If you’re being honest then you probably have. Poor levels of productivity run rampant across the Western world, and the cause of this is quite apparent. The truth remains that the digital era we now live in, combined with our ever-present evolutionary tendencies, has caused us to seek constant stimulation through our devices. These instruments of pleasure have been systematically engineered to appeal to our evolutionary psychology – allowing humans to feel good without the work that would traditionally be involved. While the addictive nature of cell phones and social media certainly benefits their creators, they have been shown, quite consistently, to decrease our productivity dramatically.

These aren’t trivial concerns; your productivity is essential for maintaining your mental and physical health, achieving your goals consistently, and finding your sense of meaning in life. Now, if you’re anything like I was, then you do seek productivity but are limited by your impulses. When you try to be productive, a plethora of alternative actions fill your mind: “Dang it, I forgot to feed the dog”, “Let me check my phone for any notifications”, “Did I do the dishes? I might as well go check”, and, my personal favorite, “Let me check Instagram; I’ll only spend a few minutes on it, then I’ll get back to work.” Our minds, being intelligent machines, create problems for us to fix to prevent us from pursuing things we find unenjoyable. After being trained to only react to dopaminergic stimuli from constant phone use, we think that even the idea of sitting down and reading is dull. Why not check our phones when we can? Why wait for pleasure?

The hours you spend on social media can translate to thousands, potentially even millions, of dollars in revenue from the startup you’ve been putting off; the time spent on video games in your youth could have been spent developing yourself or finding your purpose – essentially, the goals you truly wish to pursue are limited by your lack of productivity. Again, this is disastrous for the human race. It appears that people have forgotten that their time is limited – that we only sustain a certain number of hours and heartbeats. The value of our time cannot be overstated. You don’t want to lie on your deathbed with regret regarding ideas never executed, books never written, or businesses never started. As humans, the time we have for existence is time that should be used effectively, to bring value to the world and build a meaningful legacy. These objectives are limited, primarily, by a lack of productivity.

Even if you were to disregard your evolutionary requirement to be productive – which would be completely shortsighted – it would still be required of you, for your own sake, to be a fruitful individual. Unproductivity is the primary – if not the only – limiting factor in you not pursuing genuine interests. The business you’ve always wanted to start, the book you’ve always wanted to write, or the instrument you’ve been meaning to learn are bound by your inability to focus – your inefficiency disallows time for your artistic endeavors to flourish. In essence, your development as an individual is limited by your unwillingness to use your time effectively – your unproductivity.

With the understanding of the benefits of productivity, what exactly limits you? Well, the first answer to that question would be, quite obviously, your addiction to modern technology. Because we are not evolutionarily adapted to the digital age we live in, our brains continue to interpret digital phenomena as real-world happenings. Being that they are relatively new in the timeline of homo-sapien existence, video games and social media are perceived by our minds to be something tangible, something that has the potential to benefit us. For instance, because status is inherently advantageous for humans to possess -- given that it represents an abundance of resources, quality mating options, and the continued survival of the species -- video game developers have created virtual status hierarchies for gamers to progress in. The video games available to us – Call of Duty, Fortnite, Rocket League, etc – imitate the real-world class structure by allowing people to raise their rank, collect digital currencies, and increase their skill level over time. Similarly, “Likes” on Instagram represent validation from the group, and streaks on Snapchat indicate an abundance of friends – all perfectly created to fit our evolutionary impulses.

Noticeable human evolution is, unlike what some would argue, incredibly slow. In reality, our psyches will not understand that internet porn isn’t the spreading of the seed and the bright colors on TikTok do not represent ripe fruit within any of our lifetimes. So, what can we do today? First, it is important to redevelop your ability to live, think, and act independently of your technology (what some would call “resetting your dopamine”) – deleting Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and, yes, even YouTube from your phone. Reduce the apps on your phone drastically, and only allow the bare essentials. Because you are now unreliant on your phone to provide you with immediate pleasure, your life will initially appear to be duller. You can’t watch TikTok when you’re bored, you can’t mindlessly scroll and double-tap on Instagram when you have a break in between shifts, and you can’t egregiously watch YouTube videos while you’re in the bathroom. The initial period of boredom after you sterilize your cell phone will quickly pass, however, as the nature of the real world slowly starts to interest you more. You’ll find it more stimulating to talk to people, work on yourself, and, yes, be productive.

The effects of productivity tend to compound over time, as the upward trajectory toward your goals continues. This will provide all the necessary motivation one needs, given that you have concrete goals. Goals are perhaps the single-most important aspects of your journey, and they should be made clear from the beginning. They will give you a visual: a flag to reach, a checkpoint, an ideal – a reason to continue. This means that the first step towards any kind of self-improvement is a set of goals, ones that are somewhat mutable to fit your ever-changing position in life. Make them lofty, or even somewhat unrealistic, because – if you stick to the upward trajectory – they will start to become more clear and reachable. Commit to your goals religiously.

Productivity, as a behavior, is the sole reason humans are able to grow. It allows people to realize their potential and advance toward an ideal. It isn’t a choice between working and playing; it is the differentiating factor in whether or not we will waste our existence in favor of expediency, or spend it building something greater than ourselves.