The Real Reason You're Addicted To Planner Ideas

If you're addicted to what can only be described as productivity and planner porn, this video is for you.

Most of my coaching clients find me online because they're looking for the perfect productivity tips and planner ideas to solve all of their problems. While I do help them set up the right productivity system for them, I spend just as much time, if not more, coaching them around their mindset. Because no amount of time management or organization tips will help them if their relationship with themselves and their ability to take action is fractured in any way.

By the end of this video, you'll experience a powerful mindset shift that will allow you to transform your relationship with your productivity and yourself.

Watch the video below or read on for the full transcript.

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All right, first, let's talk about the symptoms of productivity porn addiction:

• Endlessly scrolling Pinterest or Instagram for planner ideas and planner inspiration.

• Watching bullet journal setups, plan with me's, or task management tools tutorials (for Notion, Trello, Obsidian, Asana, et cetera), on YouTube.

• Regularly buying new planners or downloading new apps, and not actually using them for more than a week or two.

• Focusing on the pleasing aesthetic of whatever planner system you're using instead of its functionality.

• Procrasti-planning, procrastinating on the thing you should be doing by planning or organizing instead.

Now let's talk about why I'm using the term addiction. At their heart, addictions arise out of an inability to cope. In the beginning, even literally addictive substances such as drugs and alcohol are merely a way to escape, numb out, or create pleasure in uncomfortable or painful circumstances.

Coping mechanisms are not automatically bad. Coping mechanisms are an inescapable and necessary part of being human. The trouble comes when the coping mechanism itself is or becomes harmful.

This brings me to my primary thesis for this video: your addiction to productivity porn is simply a coping mechanism.

But here's the important part, looking at productivity porn gives you a sense of calm because there's an underlying belief that if you could just get your planner to look like that, you'd finally have control over your life and wouldn't feel so anxious anymore.

Feel called out right now? Sorry. Tell me about it in the comments.

The real trouble comes when you've cycled through enough planners that "didn't do the trick," that all you do is scroll and watch videos that give you the high of feeling like you're in control simply by watching someone else be super organized.

I'm not going to lie, I still find productivity porn to be super satisfying and calming. The difference for me now, however, is that I recognize this for what it is, a coping mechanism. So now, if and when I find myself falling down the productivity porn rabbit hole, I know to stop, take a step back, and ask myself, "What am I avoiding realizing, feeling, saying, or doing right now that makes me want to use a coping mechanism to feel better?"

Depending on what your answer is, you have some options. If you're able to lean into that discomfort, are you willing to tolerate that discomfort right now? If so, lean into it. Let yourself feel it. If you're not able or willing, you can return to your productivity porn with the awareness that you're using it as a coping mechanism. This awareness can make the coping mechanism more self compassionate and effective, or you can choose to engage in a different coping mechanism altogether.

Side note, the reason I asked whether you are able to lean into your discomfort is because sometimes what we're experiencing is too big or painful to feel alone, or we're just not in safe circumstances. Sometimes we really do need the presence of a loving friend, partner, family member, or objective therapist to process something safely. Don't disregard this detail because it's super important. This is one of the reasons why coping mechanisms are a necessary part of life.

I want to emphasize that this process isn't about judging yourself for using coping mechanisms. Instead, this process is about interrupting your habitual behavior so you can make informed choices about how you'd like to behave, and sometimes that will mean that you don't in fact change your behavior, while other times it will. I'm inviting you to offer yourself compassion as you lean into your felt experiences.

Here is the self-reflection question again so you don't forget it:

"What am I avoiding realizing, feeling, saying, or doing right now that makes me want to use a coping mechanism to feel better?"

And if you'd like to journal on this question, I highly recommend using my anytime pages journaling technique for that. You can learn more about it by checking out this post.

Now you know exactly why you love productivity porn so much, and more importantly, you can now use that knowledge to make empowered decisions about how you care for yourself going forward. If you're anything like I used to be, however, you may now understand that your tendency to procrastinate is causing you a lot more pain than you originally thought. If that's the case, I highly recommend checking out my free masterclass, where I teach you three mindset shifts and one simple three-step system to help you kick procrastination to the curb.

All you have to do to get access is go to this link and sign up.

Check out this post next to learn how to actually use your planner instead of letting it gather dust.

If you liked this video, hit that like button and subscribe, and be sure to share it with your friends. I'll be back in two weeks with another video, see you then. Bye.