A Guide to Productivity and Your Ayurvedic Type

You've figured out your Ayurvedic constitutional type (and if you haven't you can take our quiz here), but how does this impact your working life? Once you know your type (dosha) you can use it to support your productivity and avoid the potential pitfalls you're most likely to be distracted by.  

If you are a pitta (fire) type: Your strength is in your ability to cut through confusion or overwhelm and get stuff done.  You are focused and linear, approaching tasks with a laser like attention to outcome.  This means you are the most productive of the dosha types.  However when out of balance you can rush and not pay enough attention to detail.  You may also struggle to collaborate with others because pitta's like to be in charge!  Impatience and frustration (leading to sloppiness) are your shadow sides.  Your mantra for productivity is 'I am diligent and consistent and I pay attention to details.'

If you are a vata (air) type: Vatas are the most spiritual and creative of the dosha types.  You are able to think laterally and problem solve by seeing all sides of a situation.  You are a good team player because you value different perspectives.  In your shadow side you'll get overwhelmed easily and your energy will be scattered.  Anxiety can then creep in and leave you spinning your wheels but not getting much done.  Writing and using lists is helpful for vata people to get organised and reduce feelings of overwhelm.  Your mantra for productivity is 'I focus on one thing at a time and apply my creative skills with focus and clarity'.  

If you are a kapha (earth and water) type: Slow and steady wins the race is the energy blueprint of kapha.  If you are this type you do not thrive under pressure but you do have a consistency and patience that others may lack.  You're methodical and deliberate in your approach to work and you don't give up easily.  When out of balance you might get lazy or lack self-confidence.  You may find it hard to start work but once you get going you find your flow.  Your mantra for productivity is 'I am motivated and energised to take on the challenges of the tasks ahead.'

Of course these are generalised interpretations of the doshas and the reality is we are all shifting and changing in an out of our relationship with the elements and their energies all the time.  We will be impacted by the seasons, where we live, our age and lifestyle choices.  But knowing your Ayurvedic type and then applying some of the insight from that knowledge to the way you work and get things done can be really helpful in supporting you to play to your strengths. 

Want more? Here is a video I created with my friend and Life Coach Henrike Schreer about productivity for busy people (especially mums).  In this episode, Henrike and I share our strategies (and fails) around staying productive as busy mums. Juggling our heart-centered businesses, the demands of children and the quest for some much-needed 'me time', we have both found ways of remaining focused and getting stuff done, regardless of the ups and downs of everyday life.

Productivity for Busy Mums

→ Find out what we have learnt when it comes to setting boundaries between home life and work

→ Learn about our favourite planning methods that keep us on track

→ Discover how I have managed to write a whole series of books while raising my boys.

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Looking to dive deeper into Ayurveda and Yoga with KATIE ROSE? Here's a helpful list of my most popular resources...