Do you feel like you’re always busy, but you aren’t sure that you’re getting things done? Do you know that you’re busy, but feel like you should be doing more? You could be stuck in a productivity trap…

It feels like I’m always busy. Between working full-time, having two under-fives, and spending every spare minute I have writing, you could say that I like to keep busy. But, the more I do and the longer my to-do list grows, the more I realise that feeling busy isn’t the same as getting things done. And, well, when you start to feel like you’re too busy for too long, it can start to feel overwhelming – and I know I’m not the only one.

According to research, more and more of us are feeling busy, stressed, and on our way towards burnout. A 2024 study revealed that 11% of us feel stressed every day, with nearly a quarter (23%) saying that the business of life and having a busy schedule was a cause of stress for them. According to Mental Health UK’s Burnout Report 2025, as many as one in three (34%) of us have experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress always or often over the past year.

With so many of us feeling busy, stressed, and overwhelmed, it’s easy to fall into a productivity trap without even realising it. We start equating a packed schedule with progress – and with looking like we are succeeding. But the truth is, constant busyness risks leaving us feeling exhausted, rather than effective. Before you know it, you can reach that point where busyness starts to slip from making progress to eroding our focus, energy, and efficiency, and leaves us feeling like we’re running on empty. 

What is the productivity trap? Why busyness isn’t progress

The productivity trap is something many of us slip into without realising it. It’s that cycle of constantly doing; ticking off tasks, answering messages, juggling responsibilities at work and home, yet somehow we end the day feeling like we haven’t actually achieved much at all. It’s pseudo-productivity; that feeling of being endlessly busy, while our real priorities end up sitting untouched. But, how does it happen?

A big part of it is modern life. Constant notifications on social media, email and text; an always-on culture, and the pressure to keep up with everyone else around us. The message that we all should be doing more is always there in the background. You might work full-time hours, but someone else has just shared the side-hustle they’ve successfully launched or is talking about the podcast they’ve started, or volunteering hours they do regularly. Why aren’t you managing to do all of that, too? Between often only seeing the positives shared on social media, our own poor boundaries, overflowing mental load, and rising expectations (from ourselves and others), we end up trapped in this cycle of doing more but achieving less. We equate activity with achievement, even when the two aren’t always the same.

Doing more doesn’t mean achieving more. In fact, the productivity trap shows us that often, doing more leads to poorer outcomes. More stress, less focus, and a growing sense that we’re falling behind, no matter how hard we push. But things don’t have to stay this way. By understanding the patterns that lead us to pseudo-productivity, we can start to break free from them. Here are six signs you can look out for, and what you can do about them.

Six subtle signs you’re stuck in a productivity trap and how to fix them

You’re busy all day but accomplish very little

Do you find yourself constantly switching tasks or reacting instead of planning? This isn’t only frustrating, but it can leave you feeling mentally drained and overwhelmed. When you switch tracks too frequently, you lose the opportunity for deep focus, and instead it can feel like you’ve got a lot of things to keep in mind – and no time to focus on any of them. You quickly start to feel like you are at capacity and don’t have the time to start anything new. Or maybe you start trying to do more than one thing at once, risking doing many things at once, but not necessarily finishing any of them to a level we’re happy with. 

Try… a daily priority reset
When your to-do list is overflowing, or your mental load feels like a juggling act, it becomes hard to know what deserves your attention first. Prioritising slips to the bottom of the list – ironically, when you need it most.

Take a moment at the end of each day, or first thing in the morning, to set a simple three-item priority list. These are the tasks you commit to focusing on first. This small reset restores direction, keeps you from jumping between tasks, and prevents your list from becoming an overwhelming, never-ending cycle. Once you’ve completed your three priorities, you can always take on more – but you’ll do it from a place of clarity, not chaos.

You feel mentally exhausted even on easy days

Does it get to the end of the day, and you feel like you can’t possibly make one more decision – even if it’s something as simple as what to cook for dinner? It could be a sign of brain fatigue. When you try to make too many decisions or work on too many tasks, your brain can start to feel fatigued as a result of decision overload. This, in turn, can affect your choices and self-control, leading to worse decision-making as our mental energy goes down.  

Try… using focus blocks to protect your time
We all find ourselves feeling more (or less) productive at different times of the day. Maybe you’re more of a morning person, and your most productive block of time is first thing in the morning. Or perhaps you need a gentler start to the day, followed by a good chunk of time to power through things in the afternoon, by the time you’ve had the chance to warm up. Figure out when you feel most focused, and protect that time. 

Block out 60-90 minute focus sessions, and give yourself small breaks as a reward. If you find that too long to focus, try the Pomodoro technique. For every 25 minutes you work, have a five-minute break. Research suggests that having a set, pre-determined break can help avoid higher levels of fatigue, distractedness, lower concentration and motivation levels. This can help to improve your focus, break down large tasks, and overcome procrastination. 

You’re constantly multitasking

If you find yourself hopping between emails, messages, and half-finished tasks in a never-ending cycle, you’re not alone. Multitasking may feel productive, but it splits your attention and slows you down. Research shows that our productivity actually drops as much as 40% when we try and switch between tasks frequently, leading to impaired decision making, and us doing more poorly than if we were just focusing on one thing.  

Try… switching to one task with set limits
Choose one task and give yourself a fixed time to do this and nothing else. Using timers, setting messages to silent, or leaving your phone out of reach can help reduce the pull of distractions on your time and energy. By giving yourself a clear time limit, you create a sense of focus. Once you find your rhythm, you might slip into a deeper sense of flow more easily than expected. When your time is up, you might find that you’re feeling motivated to keep going. Or you might find that switching mindfully between tasks offers a little break that helps you to feel focused without feeling like you’re flitting between things. 

Your mind feels scattered or cluttered

Having too much of a mental workload can make it difficult to find your focus, to prioritise, or even remember what you should be doing next, much less what priorities are. When every task feels urgent, and there’s always one more thing to do, it’s hard to think clearly.

Try… a weekly brain dump
Give yourself a few minutes at the end of each week to empty everything onto paper. Write down all the things you’re trying to hold in your head: tasks, worries, reminders, the works. Then sort them into categories to help figure out what is urgent, what’s important, and what can wait. This helps reduce feelings of overwhelm and gives you an overview of everything that you feel needs your attention right now. It can really help you to better visualise everything you’ve been trying to do, too. Sometimes we’re so busy getting things done, we don’t realise just how much we’re trying to do in the first place. 

You’re lacking motivation or creativity 

When your days are filled with constant output, your brain doesn’t have the space it needs to generate new ideas. Without time for inspiration, motivation and creativity can quickly dry up, and you can experience creative burnout. 

Try… scheduling intentional time to rest and take things in
You can’t draw inspiration from an empty well. Build in time for activities that leave you feeling energised, inspired, and excited. This could mean reading, listening to an inspiring podcast or music, getting outside for a walk, or spending time on hobbies you love.

Time to rest, recharge, and creatively motivate yourself isn’t an indulgence. This can help restore your cognitive flexibility and help your brain make connections that spark fresh ideas. Don’t worry about creating anything or setting yourself new tasks – just focus on taking in new inspirations, experiencing a change in scenery, and even embracing boredom without your phone on hand to distract you.

You never feel ‘done’

Your to-do list feels like it’s growing faster than you can tick things off, and what’s more, even when you do manage to get things done, it doesn’t feel like enough. There’s always more (and more, and more) waiting for you. Over time, this ‘never finished’ feeling takes an emotional toll, eroding your confidence and risking leading you closer to burnout. 

Try… keeping a ‘done list’ to track your progress and achievements
Instead of focusing on what’s left to do, it’s time to acknowledge what you have already achieved. Keeping track of what you’ve done isn’t just about justifying how you’ve spent your time. It can help boost motivation, highlight progress you might otherwise overlook, and give you something to look back on when you are feeling drained, stuck, or overloaded. It’s a simple, easy way to remind yourself: you are making progress. You are getting things done. 

Productivity isn’t about doing more

Real productivity isn’t a race to cram in more tasks. It’s about balancing focus, energy, and intention. When you manage to break free from the trap of pseudo-productivity and start working with your brain instead of against it, you can create the space to achieve more of what truly matters – and to be kinder to yourself along the way. You are achieving more than you might realise; you just might need a little nudge in the right direction to help you remember your end goals and refocus on seeing the bigger picture, rather than getting lost in the little tasks along the way.

Why not challenge yourself to try just one of these strategies to help you lessen the mental load this week? Smaller shifts can lead to sustainable change. You don’t want to overload yourself in a whole new way by trying to change too much at once.