Our world is obsessed with productivity.

We likely developed our obsession with productivity as a result of the industrial revolution. At least, that's probably where the seed first sprouted.

As a result of this, our focus shifted from producing quality to producing more in a shorter and shorter period of time. But this didn't just affect the way we work. Over time, it's seeped into other areas of life. Now many of us believe that's "just how life is".

But is this even a bad thing? Unfortunately, it has been the cause of some major downturns in our overall well-being. Most notably, I believe, is the decline of both our health and relationships.

A productivity mindset is dangerous because there's no end to it. You could work on making yourself consistently more productive for your entire life and still have room to improve. It's easy to see why it can become a dangerous obsession.

But productivity in and of itself isn't bad. It's not bad to want to become more productive or efficient. Productivity has its place, but we need to be careful.

The Buddha spoke of the principle of The Middle Way. In a nutshell, The Middle Way is the life lived between extremes, particularly self-denial and self-indulgence. Not being too here and not being too there. Part of this principle has to do with the understanding that, even if something is bad for us, oftentimes it's impossible to complete remove it.

Destroying things isn't typically considered a good thing. But to think that you can ever live in a way where you destroy and consume nothing for the rest of your life is completely unreasonable. You can kill an ant when stepping out of your car, accidentally drown a plant when watering your garden, and any product you use in your home took materials to be made. That involves killing and consuming things.

It's easy to understand how that's just an impossible goal. But you should still do your best to reduce your destruction and consumption.

This is The Middle Way, and it's the example we should follow when considering how productivity should be allowed to shape our lives.

We need to restructure our lives in a way that puts quality before quantity. We need to reevaluate our priorities and then act on them. That means we need to live in a way that puts what's most important to us, our families and our society at the forefront.

As long as what we do to become more productive does not conflict with what's really important in life such as our health, happiness, and the health and happiness of our loved ones, better yet enhances those things, then it's fine. If it harms those things we've deemed most important though then we need to tone it down.

Redefining Productivity: Learning How to Increase Productivity without Sacrificing Health and Happiness

Ever since I was little, I've been fascinated with the idea of self-actualization or of reaching one's "potential". Of course, I'd later come to realize that I was far from the first person to be interested in it.

Naturally, you could consider a part of that productivity. So it's something that's often been on my mind. But I never cared about multitasking or marking off the most things from my to-do list. In fact, I've learned that neither of those things directly lead to or signify productivity at all.

Rather, the way I've viewed productivity has always, thankfully, been in the scope of doing the best job possible in whatever I'm doing. It's because of this that, to me, efficiency is the term we should be more concerned with.

Since being introduced to Zen Buddhism, and spirituality as a whole, my idea of productivity has changed somewhat, but it still very much plays a part in my life.

Productivity has never, and will never, be about moving faster to me. What it is about is doing your best in all areas of your life. Productivity should be about giving us more time to do what- and be with who- we love. The things that matter most, such as our health, happiness, and the happiness and well-being of our loved ones, shouldn't be sacrificed in order to get "ahead" in our personal and professional lives.

Imagine a life where you have more than enough time to do what you love. A life where each day you have dedicated and uninterrupted time for your family and loved ones. You know what's most important to you and the majority of your time goes towards those things. This is the life that productivity should be geared towards.

Here are 13 simple tips and tricks, that I've used personally, which you can use to help you get there: