How to Use Limitations to Boost Productivity

Sometimes it’s good to be cornered to be more productive

Image licensed from Canva

I saw a thread on Twitter where people detailed what they miss most from their pre-pandemic lives. Hanging out with friends, hugging parents, going out without a mask were common replies, but stuffing popcorn in movie theatres appeared just as much.

I started to wonder what I miss most and because in my country we are almost back to normal — it left me missing travelling the most. The experience of leaving this everyday life behind to delve into a different city, hearing another language and dip my toes in the sea is on the top of my list.

But surprisingly, right after these, I realised how much I miss my weekly commute to Vienna — which is 200 miles or 3 hours on the train away from where I live. I work as a freelance consultant and my main client’s headquarters are in another city, another country. Before March I commuted to Vienna, every Wednesday — getting up at 5 to catch the 6 am train, arriving there at 9 to work from the office the whole day and then catching the evening train back. It is as exhausting as it sounds, the longest day of the week was always Wednesday and I used to spend my entire Thursday recovering from it. Yet I realized I miss it.