So, you woke up late, binge-watched Netflix all day, and ordered take-out? Just out of curiosity, when are you planning to binge on those recorded lectures that have been piling up since the past few (not a few) weeks? Where did all that sleep get you except taking away several golden hours of the day? Also, did you work out? No, like a solid, intensive workout. Not the momentary hustle and collapsing on your knees right after 5 (wait, were they just 2?) miles of running.
Okay, I’m sorry about that, I seriously did not mean to give you an existential crisis. But you don’t need anybody to do that, do you? Count the number of times you say “What are even you doing in life? Do you even want to get anywhere? Stop wasting your time and get to work! You should be doing SO much more.” to yourself in a day. I personally ran out of fingers. And toes.
What exactly is Productivity Guilt?
Do you ever feel crammed with so many things to do that you just choke and go to bed? And then, when you find nothing ticked off on your to-do list, enters "drum rolls" - a not-so-little GUT-WRENCHING voice living in your head rent-free – the productivity guilt!
Productivity guilt is the mentality that pushes you into the spiral of overwhelming anxiety and self-doubt, making you feel AWFUL for not working hard and being useful enough. It is the constant desire to accomplish more than you already have. It works AMAZINGLY WELL to push you out of your procrastination-hibernation mode and get you going, but it crosses boundaries when it stubbornly vows to constantly keep you on the go and greedily demands more than your capacity.
It gets unhealthy when it repetitively nags you for not doing enough and raises the fear of not creating and achieving enough in a day, no matter how hard you’ve worked. Even worse, it completely leaves you restless and sucks all the fun and pleasure out of weekends and free days! It’s like having a constantly ticking internalized conscience of a cranky, high-maintenance boss who keeps raising an eyebrow every time you get up from your desk.
And to pacify this obsessive guilt in your head, you stuff your days with endless to-do lists with barely any room for rest. Taking a break or a day off is completely jolted off the list. That’s when it gets toxic, folks – when you can’t tolerate being free. When you let this guilt take the upper hand over you.
How can productivity guilt affect you?
It drains you, your energy, and your mental health. That’s the zenith of productivity guilt – always feeling like you have too many things on your plate and very little time. It can make you impatient and irritable, having trapped you in this continuous, vicious cycle of “what next?”
It is good to be future-oriented, but productivity guilt makes you go over the top, not allowing to you live in the moment and celebrate your existing accomplishments or even the simplest things in life. It doesn’t have to be an accomplishment to be celebrated, but productivity guilt tells you otherwise.
In the endless rush to get things done, there is no room left for creativity. And creativity cannot be forced. It isn’t a race with a finish line. You can’t reach and grab a hold of it, you can only let it come to you while you’re simply journeying your way through life, and life is not made up of to-do lists, it is made up of moments and memories. It’s all in the journey. Not the destination. And I don’t mean to sound cliché, but it is what it is. And it’s cliché for a reason.
Your productivity guilt tricks you deeper into fuelling itself because the work you’re doing in this rash, burnt-out headspace doesn’t enhance your productivity; all it does is choke your creativity and diminish your efficiency.
Working requires more smart work than hard work, and yet, you squeeze the life out of yourself to get tasks done, not to get the perfect results, but to cure all the anxiety and fuss that comes with the workload. Now, is that the right headspace to work in?
But I get it: It’s not you, it’s them – a world with unrealistically high standards of beauty and success. A world where everything is a competition.
Productivity guilt has its roots in the capitalist society that has glorified productivity on so many levels that it’s easy to believe that you don’t deserve to take a break.
It is good to be future-oriented, but productivity guilt makes you go over the top, not allowing to you live in the moment and celebrate your existing accomplishments or even the simplest things in life. It doesn’t have to be an accomplishment to be celebrated, but productivity guilt tells you otherwise.
In the endless rush to get things done, there is no room left for creativity. And creativity cannot be forced. It isn’t a race with a finish line. You can’t reach and grab a hold of it, you can only let it come to you while you’re simply journeying your way through life, and life is not made up of to-do lists, it is made up of moments and memories. It’s all in the journey. Not the destination. And I don’t mean to sound cliché, but it is what it is. And it’s cliché for a reason.
Your productivity guilt tricks you deeper into fuelling itself because the work you’re doing in this rash, burnt-out headspace doesn’t enhance your productivity; all it does is choke your creativity and diminish your efficiency.
Working requires more smart work than hard work, and yet, you squeeze the life out of yourself to get tasks done, not to get the perfect results, but to cure all the anxiety and fuss that comes with the workload. Now, is that the right headspace to work in?
But I get it: It’s not you, it’s them – a world with unrealistically high standards of beauty and success. A world where everything is a competition.
Productivity guilt has its roots in the capitalist society that has glorified productivity on so many levels that it’s easy to believe that you don’t deserve to take a break.
It has internally conditioned you to think that you should always be on the grind and you shouldn’t be indulging in your hobbies and even the most basic things – like eating or sleeping.
Modern work culture has always taught us from the beginning to work hard and complete our homework on time. You will hear folks brag about how late they worked last night and how much they still got to finish at hand. Social media is another toxic, superficial platform that increases our tendency to engage in social comparison.
After watching people ‘supposedly’ on the hop, it is easy to garnish your productivity guilt with extra toppings of Fear of Missing Out and Fear of Falling Behind.
But really, it is all just a race to be perceived as worthwhile in front of others. The fact that we’re not actually living, and that we’re constantly running in the race of meeting deadlines, and that we’d literally keep running for the rest of our lives, disheartens me to another level. What’s the rush? All I’d ever wanted was to be loved for what I am, not for my trophies and victories.
It’s almost like having a gun pointed to our heads for functioning according to the terms and conditions of the world. I wonder, when would we get the chance to make our own?
Modern work culture also teaches us to link our self-worth with the amount of work we can manage to complete in one day, which is from where comes your refusal to be vulnerable and imperfect. But trust me, you’re much more than that. And even the busiest person on the planet would like to believe that.
As for how to manage this guilt for yourself, keep reading further.
First of all, set a REALISTIC, prioritized goal, and tell yourself it’s okay to do other things later. But when you have too much to do and too little time, manage your time well. And by that, I don’t mean a jump from one work to another. I mean chunk out equal hours for rest as much as you devote for work.
DO NOT blur the lines between rest and work. Just as a phone needs a battery to function well, so do you. So let yourself recharge, and then get to work. Recognize the difference between necessary rest and slothful rest.
Find an activity that will allow you to put a rest on your anxieties. It could be anything: Sleeping, lying down, reading, watching a movie, talking to a friend, going for a walk, or literally just existing and breathing in a corner.
Being busy means having a lot of things to do. Being productive means doing all these things wholeheartedly, successfully reaching your goals. Now if you’re busy with a lot of things to do, you’re most likely to divide your focus and not give one thing your full attention. And this half-hearted work would reflect in your performance.
Stop comparing yourself to others
Now I know you’ve heard this one. But do you apply it? I know it’s easier said than done, but those people you admire have as many freckles and flaws as you. And kudos to them for handling it so well. Always remember that you’re not in their position, and they’re not in yours. Just because they’re doing it, doesn’t mean you have to, too.
Recognize your capacity and strive for progress over perfection
It is impossible to be perfect. You’re always going to find someone better and more experienced than you. So why not just do it for self-growth? Isn’t that the whole point of doing it, that you can do something today you couldn’t yesterday? Or do we just fill our plates according to the measures prescribed by society, only to spill it later?
Now, I’ll be off. Find me binge-watching The Bold Type on Netflix with two buckets of popcorn guilt-free!
Modern work culture has always taught us from the beginning to work hard and complete our homework on time. You will hear folks brag about how late they worked last night and how much they still got to finish at hand. Social media is another toxic, superficial platform that increases our tendency to engage in social comparison.
After watching people ‘supposedly’ on the hop, it is easy to garnish your productivity guilt with extra toppings of Fear of Missing Out and Fear of Falling Behind.
But really, it is all just a race to be perceived as worthwhile in front of others. The fact that we’re not actually living, and that we’re constantly running in the race of meeting deadlines, and that we’d literally keep running for the rest of our lives, disheartens me to another level. What’s the rush? All I’d ever wanted was to be loved for what I am, not for my trophies and victories.
It’s almost like having a gun pointed to our heads for functioning according to the terms and conditions of the world. I wonder, when would we get the chance to make our own?
Modern work culture also teaches us to link our self-worth with the amount of work we can manage to complete in one day, which is from where comes your refusal to be vulnerable and imperfect. But trust me, you’re much more than that. And even the busiest person on the planet would like to believe that.
As for how to manage this guilt for yourself, keep reading further.
Time Management
First of all, set a REALISTIC, prioritized goal, and tell yourself it’s okay to do other things later. But when you have too much to do and too little time, manage your time well. And by that, I don’t mean a jump from one work to another. I mean chunk out equal hours for rest as much as you devote for work.
DO NOT blur the lines between rest and work. Just as a phone needs a battery to function well, so do you. So let yourself recharge, and then get to work. Recognize the difference between necessary rest and slothful rest.
Engage in something other than work
Find an activity that will allow you to put a rest on your anxieties. It could be anything: Sleeping, lying down, reading, watching a movie, talking to a friend, going for a walk, or literally just existing and breathing in a corner.
While you’re doing that, try not to think about things centered around work. Catch the thoughts that trigger productivity guilt and throw them away as soon as they enter. Transform this guilt into self-compassion. Now I know that’s not easy, but at least try. It’s okay, it’ll take time. If you feel rejuvenated and stimulated after spending some time engaged in self-care, ask yourself: was it really a waste of time?
Recognize the difference between being busy and productive
Recognize the difference between being busy and productive
Being busy means having a lot of things to do. Being productive means doing all these things wholeheartedly, successfully reaching your goals. Now if you’re busy with a lot of things to do, you’re most likely to divide your focus and not give one thing your full attention. And this half-hearted work would reflect in your performance.
So, when you’re doing something, give it your best shot or don’t do it at all, because it is as good as undone if it isn’t done properly.
Stop comparing yourself to others
Now I know you’ve heard this one. But do you apply it? I know it’s easier said than done, but those people you admire have as many freckles and flaws as you. And kudos to them for handling it so well. Always remember that you’re not in their position, and they’re not in yours. Just because they’re doing it, doesn’t mean you have to, too.
Always remember that it’s never too late to start. Don’t worry about being productive, just do it to satisfy your curiosity. Do it to fuel your interest. Do it for yourself. It takes a lot of courage to even be trying to do what you want to instead of what others want you to. If you’re doing what you want to at your own pace, you’re golden! Because not everyone can.
Recognize your capacity and strive for progress over perfection
It is impossible to be perfect. You’re always going to find someone better and more experienced than you. So why not just do it for self-growth? Isn’t that the whole point of doing it, that you can do something today you couldn’t yesterday? Or do we just fill our plates according to the measures prescribed by society, only to spill it later?
If you’ve fulfilled your one-day capacity, pat yourself on the back. You deserve it. Do not deprive yourself of those sweet glories when you’ve achieved something, even if it’s little.
Embrace yourself and let loose before hopping on to the next project. The point is to enjoy the journey instead of hurrying off to the destination. It will make you more confident and even more productive!
Your well-being is more valuable than your level of productivity, and taking it for granted is one of the biggest sins in life. Always remember that before you’re a student/employee, you’re a human first. You are NOT merely a product of the capitalist society. The world will keep bustling. It will never wait. But you can take some time off that bustle to a quieter place.
Conclusion
Your well-being is more valuable than your level of productivity, and taking it for granted is one of the biggest sins in life. Always remember that before you’re a student/employee, you’re a human first. You are NOT merely a product of the capitalist society. The world will keep bustling. It will never wait. But you can take some time off that bustle to a quieter place.
Conclusion
So, take that nap that you’ve been stalling for very long, not because you’ve accomplished something to deserve it, but because you’re human. And that’s enough logical reasoning for why you should keep well.
The next time you meet somebody, ask them if they got enough sleep and if they’ve been eating well instead of how much they studied/worked in a day. Ask them if they got a chance to spend some time with their family and self-retrospect. Ask them if they’ve balanced work and life in a way that allows them happiness. When it matters to you, it’d start mattering for them, too.
Now, I’ll be off. Find me binge-watching The Bold Type on Netflix with two buckets of popcorn guilt-free!
Written By - Vidhi Nankani
Edited By - Sourav Bhola
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