Your Inner Critic

The biggest drag on your productivity might not be your boss, your inbox, or your calendar.

It could be the inner critic narrating your day.

Does this sound familiar:

You sit down to work. The critic arrives first. It reviews your past failures before you've typed a word.

"You're behind again."

"Everyone else has figured this out."

"You'll never catch up."

"This should be easier."

It previews your future mistakes before you've made them. It turns a simple task into an audition you're already failing.

So you delay. You switch tasks. You reorganize your desk. Anything to avoid the critique happening in your head.

Your inner critic thinks it's protecting you from disappointment. Instead, it's creating it. It mistakes anxiety for preparation. Hesitation for wisdom. Self-doubt for self-awareness.

That voice burns more time and energy than any productivity tool can save.

So what should you do?

Notice it. Thank it for sharing. Then do the work anyway.