As a mindset-based coach, I understand the power of thinking. I also know all too well that there can be too much of a good thing. Case in point: Overthinking kills productivity. The tricky thing is, overthinking can actually FEEL productive! Today, I’m pulling back the curtain to reveal 5 ways that overthinking kills productivity.
Five ways overthinking kills productivity: Introduction
When you overthink, it can feel like you’re being responsible, safe, and intelligent. But when thinking about a decision or issue stops being productive, thinking about it even more doesn’t help you reach a solution.
In any situation, it’s important to:
- Consider the possible outcomes,
- Understand them in the larger context of your goals, and
- Think critically to arrive at a decision.
Overthinking, though, is like mixing up 10 batches of batter to bake one batch of cookies. Excessive preparation doesn’t equal better execution. And sometimes, it delays execution altogether.
I used to overthink so many decisions in my life and career. What to pursue, where to live, how to decorate my house, what to eat for dinner, how to market my business. In truth, I still overthink sometimes (it’s a totally normal thing to do). But once I learned how to step out of overthinking and into action, I started making so much progress, both in my business and in my personal life.
That’s why I wanted to share these five ways that overthinking can kill your productivity.
Overthinking feels productive, but it isn’t
How do you tell the difference between productive, critical thinking and overthinking?
Simple: Productive thinking brings you closer to a decision. Overthinking takes you further away from a decision.
Doing lots of thinking around a decision, issue, or situation can feel really productive. It can feel like you’re considering every angle, playing devil’s advocate, being cautious, and ensuring that you’re well-informed.
All of those things are important to do, but overthinking goes beyond them. Overthinking often causes you to run through the same thoughts and scenarios over and over. It’s often fear-based, bringing up scary “what-if’s” that aren’t likely to happen.
Critical, productive thinking helps you assess and eliminate options. Overthinking often involves the refusal to eliminate options, frequently out of fear of making the “wrong” choice.
Spending significant time and energy thinking about something, without getting closer to a decision, isn’t productive. It might feel productive, but you’re not actually getting anything done.
Overthinking prevents you from making decisions and taking action
Sometimes, overthinking is an unconscious defense mechanism against perceived risk. If you tell yourself that you’re still deciding on something (or that you need to think about it some more), then you don’t have to make a decision.
This can be a frustrating double-edged sword. On one hand, you probably really want or need to make a decision. On the other hand, maybe you’re afraid you’ll make the wrong decision.
To your subconscious mind, which is trying to keep you safe, not making a decision at all is a great way to avoid making the wrong decision. So, it pushes you to overthink, which feels productive and delays making a decision.
Sometimes, overthinking can involve a belief that you need “more” of something before you decide. More certainty, more options, more insights, more preparation, more confidence.
The problem there is, “more” usually becomes a moving goalpost. In the pursuit of overthinking what you need to get started or to decide, you don’t take action, and overthinking negatively impacts your productivity.
Overthinking causes you to waste time and energy on second-guessing and self-doubting
One of the biggest pitfalls of overthinking when it comes to productivity? The time and energy it can cause you to waste on second-guessing and doubting yourself.
Have you ever decided what to do in a situation, then started second-guessing your decision? What tends to happen there?
Many people start overthinking their choice. They start doubting themselves. They overthink around all the things that could go wrong as a result of choosing that option. Ten, they overthink around all the benefits they could miss out on as a result of not choosing the other option.
Sometimes, self-doubting and second-guessing can dissuade you from moving forward with your choice, and leave you right back where you started: Facing the same options, with no decision in sight. In this way, overthinking keeps you stuck in indecision. Overthinking kills productivity by rousing doubt and suspicion around your choices.
Overthinking frequently leads to overwhelm
Even simple decisions can feel endlessly complicated due to overthinking. Because overthinking often leads you further away from a decision, it can easily lead to feeling overwhelmed.
When there’s always something else to consider, or something to reconsider, or two opposing points that feel equally valid, it can be a lot for your brain to handle. Overwhelm is essentially when your brain looks at a field of data or a body of work to be done, decides it’s too much to handle, and shuts the situation down.
Here, overwhelm becomes another way that overthinking kills productivity. You think about the issue so much that you can’t identify a solution, and your brain packs up and goes home. You don’t take action, because you’re feeling too overwhelmed to move forward.
Overthinking creates the illusion that there’s a “right” decision (and keeps you searching for it)
As I said earlier, overthinking is often an action caused by fear. Fear of making the wrong decision, fear of messing up or failing, fear of feeling embarrassed or disappointed, for instance. Your brain is trying to protect you by telling you that if you just keep thinking about it, then you’ll gain certainty and safety by identifying the “right” decision.
The brain loves certainty. The problem is, certainty about the future, or the consequences of a choice, almost never exists. Life and business are full of unknowns. Meanwhile, overthinking kills productivity because it causes you to keep mentally searching for certainty that isn’t there. Your mind keeps telling you that if you think about this just a little more, maybe you’ll feel certain. But you never do.
What DOES create certainty? The opposite of overthinking, which is taking action. When you take action, even if you’re not sure it’s the “right” decision, you move the situation along. You get to a point where you have certainty around the outcome of your decision, because you’ve made the decision and acted on it.
In that paradoxical way, it’s action, not overthinking, that provides the brain with the certainty it desperately craves.
Five ways overthinking kills productivity: Conclusion
In conclusion, overthinking can be tempting, and it’s also pretty common. But while it might feel like you’re doing something worthwhile, overthinking ultimately kills your productivity. To recap, here are five ways that overthinking can wreck your ability to get things done:
- Feels productive, but isn’t
- Prevents you from making decisions and taking action
- Causes you to waste time and energy on second-guessing and self-doubting
- Frequently leads to overwhelm
- Creates the illusion that there’s a “right” decision (and keeps you searching for it)
If overthinking might be sapping your ability to get things done in your business, here’s the good news: It’s totally fixable, and you don’t have to do it alone. Hop on a call with me, and let’s talk about what’s going on. I’ll give you some concrete steps to start moving away from overthinking, and help you decide your next steps.