Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Productive people have one thing in common: they've found the keys to defeat distraction and procrastination. They excel at focusing and getting through to-do lists–which clearly takes some mental aptitude and strength. Good mental health translates to better productivity, so Reddit user Moist_Apartment5474 polled productive people in r/Productivitycafe by posing the question, "For your mental health what is something or things you avoid?"

Whether you're trying to implement a new habit, break old ones, or finally stick to your New Year's resolution–we can all take some mental health pointers from productive people. They shared a bevy of people, places and things that they have removed or cut from their lives to improve their mental health.


So get ready to take notes–here are 22 of the best responses to the question: "For your mental health what is something or things you avoid?"

1. "Toxic people. Don't try to impress others or make friends with those that don't show interest in you, or make you feel like you don't belong in a group. Sometimes it's better to be alone, then be in a group of people that exclude you." – Jellybean_Pumpkin

2. "Following celebrities/influencers on Instagram. Their highlight reel of constant vacations and buying whatever their heart desires is not good for my mental health. I deleted everyone who I didn’t know personally on instagram during 2020 and it really improved my mental health." – Alybank

3. "If I'm feeling really depressed, I try and avoid sad stories, or social media and the news. It just cements how I feel. Now I try and surround myself with positive stuff rather than the negative." – iambecomeslep

4. "Alcohol. It’s desperate and insidiously harmful for mental health beyond a hangover." – baxterstrangelove

"This is also the number one substance I avoid. I drank heavily for years and when I stopped my mental health improved so dramatically. My physical health through routine medical tests also improved dramatically." – Zipstser257

5. "Rushing. For context, I leave to go to appointments or work with plenty of time to commute. If there’s an accident or traffic jam, I’m still going to be on time. If I’m super early, there is usually a coffee shop or cafe nearby to pass time." – epicenter69

RushingOn The Way Running GIFGiphy

6. "Multiplayer/online/competitive games (Valorant, Overwatch, League of Legends, CS:GO, Apex Legends, PUBG, Warzone) are filled with the most egotistical and toxic people and make it not fun. I have been switching to single-player games like RDR2, and I enjoy them so much." – Specific_Charge_3297

7. "American football. Checking work email out of hours. TV news." – SeveralButterfly8560

8. "Crowded places." – Fuzzteam7

9. "Weight loss posts, apps, 'inspo'. Never has this done anything for me except make me hate my body. I’ve struggled with EDs my entire life and even at my heaviest those apps and posts only served to make me hate myself more, which made it easier to continue to live unhealthily. I think they can be good for some people in moderation, but they’re also so very destructive."– speltbread12

10. "Weed. It wasn't clear to me how much it was damaging my mental health until I removed it from my life." – Voodoo_Jack

11. "Avoid thinking about what hurts me. These are called intrusive thoughts and are past patterns of co ING. When these thoughts intruded what I personally do is change my thinking. I often pray for myself, I forgive myself. It's not that hard anymore. I have become aware of my thoughts. These thoughts do not incl5 self reflection. I often think of the past and often it can hurt. It is healing at the same time. I also consider any "bad feelings or hurt I have karma. I hurt others and now it is my turn. I am 68 and have been in therapy on and off for 50 years. Hope this helps." – Rosespetetal

12. "News & Politics for sure. It's impossible to 100% tune them out/avoid them, but you can reduce what you see/hear by about 90-95% which goes a long way." – rubix44

13. "Replacing doomscrolling with reading has helped tremendously." – royalfunkstar

Doomscroll.Add Hasan Minhaj GIF by MOODMANGiphy

14. "Professionalism. I'm not going to make up an entirely new identity just to do a job. It's bad enough I have to work. I'm not going to cosplay as a middle aged Caucasian from suburbia just to make someone else happy." – Pyredditt

15. "Overwork. I used to be the guy who never really minded when I worked more than 8 hours a day. Then it got to the point where it was threatening my marriage and causing a lot of stress with my wife. I quit that job and quit putting in extra long days for no reward. I might not be 'CEO material' or what have you but I value my family WAY more. I make enough money to be comfortable, I don't want to be the rich guy who alienated his family to get to that point." – Long-Tradition6399

16. "Comparing yourself to others. Be grateful for what you do have instead of what you don't." – truthhurts2222222

17. "The radio.. I don't know why I am like this. Places I've worked where the radio is on constantly all day every day.. the music that is supposedly popular, the presenters, the adverts, the jingles. I have literally left places of employment because of the radio lol.... and yes, I have asked for it to be switched off or even the volume to be lowered for a while. But no, that is out of the question. 'It's always been this way' or 'we've always listened to this station' or 'The day passes quicker'. I don't understand how people do it." – DarthMidnight87

Radio.Animation Chilling GIF by Gabriela SibilskaGiphy

18. "Having a gut reaction to click bait before researching. I find that I am now more likely to stop and quickly google something than immediately react on the spot." – MirMurMer

19. "Seeing my family too much." – RlyVSS

20. "Compulsive clothing purchases...result, financial problems which further increase stress..." – Mysterious_Leave_971

21. "I avoid people that complain and/or gossip. I have 0 interest in talking shit about other people." – SaffronSpecs

22. "Being productive all the time kills my mental health." – trippingbilly0304

More For You

Nasa's Crew-8 finally lands but can’t sit comfortably. Here’s why.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts from right to left NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Matthew Dominick, and Michael Barratt, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenki.

Nasa's Crew-8 finally lands but can’t sit comfortably. Here’s why.

In late October 2024, SpaceX Crew-8 completed NASA’s latest commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station with a splashdown near Pensacola. But rather than an easy transition back to normal life, three of the returning astronauts landed briefly in the hospital. Once discharged, they faced reporters and described the unexpected difficulties of reacclimating to Earth after 235 days in space.

Photographers at NASA capture the night sky Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, on a beach near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Photo by NASA/Glenn Benson via KSC

Keep ReadingShow less
A hotel room door, ajar.

Representative Image: It's important to keep safety in mind when checking into a hotel.

This viral post exposes a scary hotel security flaw, but there’s a simple way to stay safe

A TikTok video once raised alarms about hotel room security after demonstrating a device that could open doors from the outside. User braccozz posted a clip showing how a simple twisted wire could be inserted under a door, looped around the handle, and pulled to open the door. The video gained over 13.4 million views before being deleted, but not before sparking widespread concern.

"If you ever see this come under the door, run IMMEDIATELY."

— @braccozz

One woman’s real-life encounter with the hotel door hack

Before the original video disappeared, it reached TikTok user josiebowers10, who shared a terrifying experience from her teenage years. Bowers, from Canada, recalled how someone tried to break into her hotel room using the same method when she was 15 years old and on vacation in Ocean City, Maryland.

Keep ReadingShow less
woman reading book in tent

Ah, reading!

Photo by Lê Tân on Unsplash

People share the 46 books that helped them get through really hard times

Books have the power to heal. Reading stories that expand your mind and introduce new ideas can be a powerful tool to help you overcome hard times in life. So when a woman struggling opened up to complete strangers for book recommendations to help her through, they delivered.

"Looking for a book that can help me through a really hard time in life right now," she shared. "I’m going though a lot of changes and grief in my life right now. Getting very depressed and it’s hard for me to keep positive. I’m looking for a book that changed your life? Something that helps with perspective and makes you think." These are 46 of the best books that have helped people get through hard times.

Keep ReadingShow less
wedding, wedding surprise, wedding speech

Bride surprises husband with student messages at wedding reception.

Euphoria Films/Instagram

Bride surprises groom with sweet recorded messages from his students at their wedding reception

Wedding reception speeches are always tearjerkers. And for Australian newlyweds Ryan and Chelsea Cox, their reception speech had the entire wedding crying. In a touching Instagram video shared by Euphoria Films, bride Chelsea surprises her new groom Ryan with a heartwarming surprise from his students.

"You are exactly in the career you're meant to be. Making a real difference. You should be so proud of the love, the care and support you bring to their lives," Chelsea says in the beginning of the speech. "I know how much you wanted them here today, so I'm just sharing a little love from your Class 5 Red."

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman’s job interview takes a turn when she shares her love for sci-fi
Cover image source: Pexels | Pixabay; Reddit

Woman’s job interview takes a turn when she shares her love for sci-fi

Job interviews are nerve-wracking experiences, and even the most prepared candidates can face rejection for unexpected reasons. While some employers turn applicants away for valid concerns, others seem to base their decisions on trivial factors. One Reddit user, u/Alikona_05, shared a frustrating hiring experience where a highly qualified candidate was rejected simply because of her hobbies.

The post, which has received over 1.9K upvotes and 211 comments, described how their boss was looking for a temporary employee to fill in during a medical leave. Since the boss had a scheduling conflict, the Reddit user was asked to sit in on the interview alongside a senior coworker—whom they described as a "boomer."

Keep ReadingShow less