Do you feel like you’re not doing enough? You might be feeling this way because of the many responsibilities that are on your plate. It’s hard to get everything done, and it can sometimes lead to feelings of guilt or stress.
The good news is that there are things you can do to make these feelings go away – things like delegating tasks or setting boundaries with others. In this article, we will discuss ways in which you can help alleviate these feelings so that they no longer affect your quality of life.
Why Do We Feel Like We Aren’t Doing Enough?
There are many reasons why people feel like they’re not doing enough. Taking a moment to pinpoint why these feelings are coming up for you is a great way to begin to work through them. Here are some of the more common reasons why we feel that we haven’t accomplished enough:
Poor Planning
One of the main reasons people feel like they’re not doing enough is because they haven’t planned everything out well. They don’t have a good system in place, and as a result, things get missed.
Goals and milestones are helpful because they allow you to have a clear picture of what needs to get done. If you don’t set goals and milestones, then it can be easy for things to fall through the cracks.
Without plans, timelines, and goals, it’s impossible for us to effectively use our time and resources to get the most out of our lives. Furthermore, without a plan, it’s hard to have priorities.
The Solution:
You’ll want to establish a system to regain a sense of control in your life. There are as many different types of systems as there are people, so it’s important that you find what works best for your specific needs.
Some people don’t like a lot of structure, and if you’re one of these people, make sure not to choose too complex of a system. Others love having all of the details and would prefer this kind of strategy. The only way to find the right balance of structure and freedom is to experiment with many different methods.
When you accomplish your goals, don’t forget to celebrate! This lets your mind know that you have completed something and will condition you to feel satisfied instead of feeling like you have to do more.
Failing To Set Boundaries With Others
The feeling of not doing enough can be a result of having no boundaries with others or being afraid to say “no.” We feel like it’s necessary for us to help everyone else get things done while neglecting our own needs in the process. Prioritizing yourself is easier said than done, but it is necessary.
Poor boundary setting can manifest in work, school, or any professional area of our lives. We may feel like we need to stay after work or school for hours on end in order to be worthy of a good grade, our pay, or a promotion.
In our personal lives, we may feel like we need to constantly be available for our partners, family members, friends, and so on. This can lead us to neglect ourselves in the process.
The Solution:
If you think you may be putting the needs of others in front of your own, you’ll want to start practicing saying no when it’s appropriate. Think of what you’ll say before you’re actually in that situation to make sure that you won’t get flustered and end up agreeing to another task.
If you still want to support others, then help them come up with other solutions to their problems, such as recommending other people who might be able to help them. If you do this, then it will take some of the pressure off yourself and allow you to feel like you’re making a contribution without compromising your own needs.
Trying to Do Everything At Once
Another common reason that we feel like we’re never doing enough is that we are taking on way too much! We may have too many responsibilities, and we try to do everything all at once.
We may feel compelled to do this because we feel time scarcity and the need to fit everything in all at once. This is a recipe for disaster! It’s not possible to do this, and it will only leave us feeling regretful later on.
The Solution:
We must make the choice to do a few things well to avoid doing everything poorly.
Priorities allow us to feel a sense of accomplishment along the way, even when we can’t complete an entire project all at once. We get a sense of satisfaction from doing the most important thing even if we can’t do everything.
In order to choose the right priorities, think about what is most important to you in your role. Are there certain tasks that are more crucial than others? Identify the things that are the most valuable and prioritize them first.
Discomfort With Boredom
When we have no distractions in our lives and nothing to do, this can feel uncomfortable for some people. This is because many of us define ourselves based on how productive we are, and if we’re not doing anything, then it feels like there is something wrong with us or that our life doesn’t matter.
Modern society hasn’t helped by training us to always pick up our phones and look at a screen in any moment when we aren’t doing anything. We’ve been conditioned to dread boredom and be uncomfortable when it arises, which means that we’ll do anything in order to avoid it.
Unfortunately, this may lead to us being busy all of the time, but hardly being productive! People often confuse the two things and wonder why they haven’t gotten their work done even though they’ve been constantly busy.
The Solution:
We must learn to appreciate the value of boredom in order to function more effectively when distractions are gone. This will help you relax your mind by freeing up space for creative thoughts instead of feeling stressed.
In order to combat boredom, take a little time each day where you can do something relaxing and fun so that you don’t feel bad about being bored sometimes. Consider meditating, taking a walk, or having an hour each day where you don’t use any electronics.
With time, these small practices will unwind an addition to dopamine. This will allow you to be okay with more downtime in your life, which is something that we all need.
Perfectionism
Some of us have a habit of striving for perfectionism in everything that we do. We don’t want to feel like our work is good enough, so we keep going over it and looking at it from different angles until we think that it’s perfect.
Some reasons we do this is because we don’t want to disappoint others or let them down. We may believe that deep down inside, we are not perfect enough, and will try to project an image of perfection to projects in order to feel accepted.
The problem with this approach is that nothing will ever be truly “perfect”, so it’s impossible to achieve and will always leave us feeling like there is more to do.
The Solution:
Start to focus on making iterations rather than trying to get everything perfect all at once. Instead of focusing on trying to do something perfectly, focus instead on how it can be improved upon or what you’ll change next time.
This will allow work that may not have been great in the beginning to become better over time with an endless cycle of improvement. It will also start to lessen the expectation that everything will be done perfectly on the first try.
Another way to do this is to act fast with your projects to avoid overthinking them. The longer you wait to start a project, the more pressure that builds up and the more time it takes for your brain to overcome itself. Also, when completing a project, don’t take too much time to comb over it for errors and edits. Just complete the project and move on to something else.
Low Self-Esteem
Our self-esteem is how we feel about and see ourselves as a person. This can impact us in many different ways, but it mostly comes down to feeling good or bad about who you are and what you do with your life.
When someone has low self-esteem, they tend to have thoughts like “I’m not enough” or “What will people think about me if I do this?” This can prevent people from taking action because they don’t want to be judged by others, or just flat out feel like the work isn’t good enough. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy because the more we don’t do something, the worse our self-esteem gets.
The Solution:
Start by reflecting on your current feelings of self-worth. How does it make you feel? What are your daily thoughts about yourself?
Remember that building self-esteem is a process, so take the time to figure out what things are causing your low self-worth. Look at these aspects of life and see how you can improve them so that you feel more confident in yourself. Don’t try to do this all on your own. You deserve support!
Ask for help from your friends, join a group, or get on the internet and look for resources that are aimed at building self-esteem. Finding a coach who can help you with this and having a safe space to talk about your feelings is an excellent way to combat low self-esteem while providing accountability.
Physical Health
When you are not physically healthy, it can have a huge impact on your work. You might feel tired all of the time or get sick very frequently. This is because when our bodies are run down, we aren’t putting out high-quality work that makes us proud of ourselves and what we do.
It’s hard to feel excited or satisfied about our accomplishments in life when we are tired and lethargic on a day-to-day basis. We may confuse our energy levels with our feelings about ourselves and assume that because we are tired, there is something wrong with us.
If we have physical pain in our bodies, we may be very distracted by the pain which can make us less productive. We might also say that we are too tired or in too much pain to do something, but this is often a cop-out because it’s easier than admitting what we really want: our health and well-being.
The Solution:
Start to take care of your body by getting enough sleep (aim for at least seven hours every night), eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, drinking lots of water, practicing stress-relieving techniques like yoga or meditation when you need to, and getting any necessary medical help if you have a serious health condition.
Keep in mind that you may be deficient in a few vitamins or minerals that are essential to being healthy. It’s best to go see a doctor so they can check your blood, recommend supplements if necessary, and suggest an exercise program for you. A multivitamin or a plant-heavy diet can help you to restore your physical health over time if you decide not to visit a doctor.
Final Thoughts
In general, when we are feeling like we aren’t accomplishing much in life, we usually need to do the opposite of our impulse to work more. We need to actually take a step back, see what we can take off of our plates, and do less. How much we do is not a direct reflection of our personal worth.
You may have related to one or more of the above reasons for feeling like you’re not doing enough. Usually, this feeling is because of a variety of different issues that are all connected. The good news is, we all struggle with these challenges from time to time, and you have the power to take care of these problems. Start living a life where you feel satisfied with yourself – no matter what other people think about your actions!