For the productivity blues...
Productivity is an illusion.
Wait wait, isn’t it pretty ‘real’ if you’re completing what you’ve been assigned or if your laundry is 2 weeks behind? …. ‘Productivity’ is a word for an idea, an imaginary target. The idea isn’t a real thing. It’s a relative measurement. What’s productive for a spider might be lazy for a beaver. What’s productive in spring might be impossible in winter.
Not-that-healthy mental health can come from measuring yourself against ill-defined, non-personal ideas like ‘productive,’ ‘successful,’ or ‘happy.’ When you don’t ‘think’ you’re those things, you likely suffer guilt, fear, and self-rejection. Funny enough, the act of measuring yourself against ideas and labels like that can make you less of those things. Isn’t it easier to accomplish things when you feel good about who you are or where you’re at?
Productivity is different every day for each person. What’s ironically most productive is to be mindful of wasteful leaks of mental and emotional energy. Leaks happen when you feel bad from thinking you aren’t or things aren’t how they’re supposed to be. What do you actually do when you make yourself feel like you’re not enough?
I picked this word to spotlight because the world is moving in faster and stranger ways. What’s productive, relatively, might be different for you than before. It might be more productive for you to take an early evening and go outside than it is for you to tackle another email. Being ‘unproductive’ with an early evening might make you more productive ultimately. Isn’t it sorta productive to give your mind and body a chance to adjust to the changing environment? Especially if it means you’ll be less likely to get sick, overuse food, wine, or coffee, and/or resent what you’re responsible to do.
What’s ‘productive’ for you is unique and always changing. You’re the only one who can decide what’s most productive for you right now.
[ Do-It-Yourself Metaphysics | in short | is a series of small, practical paragraphs to remind you of your power. For more content or to learn about working with me, visit linktr.ee/shayleeedwards ]