• Many Nigerians are working longer hours, juggling side hustles, remote jobs, and personal projects, yet still feel exhausted and unproductive.
• Popular productivity advice that promises success but often leads to stress, overwhelm, and burnout instead
• Here are 10 common habits disguised as productivity hacks can quietly drain energy, reduce focus, and increase burnout

You're replying to emails at midnight, watching productivity videos during your lunch break, and your to-do list is still longer than a Lagos traffic jam on a Monday morning. Yet somehow, you still feel behind.

Many of the productivity rules people swear by are actually productivity myths. And instead of helping, they're quietly pushing people toward stress, fatigue, and burnout.

In a world where everyone seems to be chasing "soft life" while also running side hustles, remote jobs, businesses, and content creation accounts, it's easy to believe you just need to work harder.

But what if the problem isn't your effort?

What if it's the advice you've been following all along?

Let's break down 10 common productivity myths that are burning people out.

10 productivity myths you should know

1. "Busy means productive"

This is probably the biggest lie of them all. Many people spend the entire day moving from one task to another and still achieve very little.

Answering messages, attending endless meetings, checking notifications, and constantly switching tasks can make you feel productive without actually producing meaningful results.

Being busy is an activity while being productive is progress. There's a massive difference.

2. "The more hours you work, the more you achieve"

A lot of people wear long work hours like a badge of honour. But research has repeatedly suggested that performance often drops after prolonged periods of work.

Your brain isn't a generator that runs endlessly. Without rest, mistakes increase, creativity drops, and simple tasks start taking longer than they should.

Sometimes the smartest productivity move is closing your laptop.

3. "Multitasking helps you get more done"

Watching a webinar, replying to WhatsApp messages, checking X, and working on a spreadsheet all at the same time is wrong.

What most people call multitasking is actually task-switching.

Your brain keeps jumping between activities, losing focus every single time.

Studies have suggested that switching between tasks can reduce efficiency.

4. "You need to wake up at 5 a.m. to succeed"

Social media loves this one. Every week there's a new influencer showing a "5 A.M. morning routine," and somehow they've already achieved more by sunrise than most people do all day.

Here's what they don't tell you:

• Success doesn't have a universal wake-up time.
• Some people do their best work early.
• Others perform better later in the day.
• The real goal isn't waking up earlier.

It's finding when your energy is highest and protecting that time.

5. "Every minute of your day must be planned"

Productivity culture often treats calendars like military operations.

Every minute scheduled, every task blocked, and every second accounted for, but life doesn't work that way.

Over-planning often creates frustration because reality rarely follows the script.

The most productive people leave room for flexibility.

6. "Breaks are a waste of time"

If you've ever felt guilty for stepping away from your desk, you're not alone.

Many people think taking breaks means they're slacking off.

In reality, breaks help your brain recover and maintain focus.

7. "You must always be motivated"

This myth destroys consistency.

People wait until they "feel like it," then they wonder why projects never get finished.

The truth is, motivation comes and goes but discipline and systems stay.

The most productive people don't rely on feeling inspired every day. They create routines that keep moving even when motivation disappears.

And that's a lesson many high achievers learn the hard way.

8. "The perfect productivity app will fix everything"

Every month there's a new app promising to transform your life, but tools don't solve poor habits.

A fancy app won't help if you constantly procrastinate. Many people spend more time organising work than actually doing it.

That's productive-looking procrastination, not productivity.

9. "Saying yes creates more opportunities"

It sounds logical. Take every opportunity, accept every request, join every project, and attend every meeting.

But constantly saying yes often means sacrificing your time, energy, and priorities.

Productive people understand that every yes is also a no.

When you say yes to one thing, you're automatically saying no to something else, which is usually your peace of mind.

10. "Rest must be earned"

Many people believe they can only rest after completing everything.

The problem is that the work never ends. There's always another email, another task, another deadline, or another goal.

If rest only comes after everything is done, you'll never truly rest.

Recovery isn't a reward, it's part of the process, and ignoring that fact is one of the fastest routes to burnout.

10 healthy ways to reduce your belly fat

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported tips that could help people reduce their belly fat which would not affect their current state of your health.

Eating plenty of soluble fibre, protein, avoiding sugary foods, regular exercise and reducing stress were some of the healthy ways to reduce belly fat.