Productivity. This simple word means so much for me in regards to personal happiness, and it should mean something to you. Productivity, at least by my definition, is doing things that benefit your own life, instead of sitting around in pajama bottoms and watching the same YouTube video for the 50th time. On top of getting whatever random task done that you initially wanted to finish, you create an unreal feeling of meaningfulness, a feeling that the actions you carry out actually hold some meaning. Yes, it’s that feeling of being an adult.

I’ll give you an example of how being productive and utilizing your time correctly can lead to this glorious feeling of self worth. Today, at 10:00, instead of sitting around my room and wasting time on my computer, I got a tire replaced, bought a new bed, and wrote an essay for my masters program. This was all done before 12:30, leaving me 5-1/2 hours to screw around and chill. With these things done, the world feels within my grasp, success feels attainable.

The point behind this is despite what you need to do, regardless of who benefits in the end, you still take away so much from getting your own tasks done. You attain a sense of wellbeing, of happiness unattainable by traditional means. So don’t procrastinate (too much) and take that first step to work on that essay, clean your room, go grocery shopping, because in the end, the only person who misses out is you.