Transcript:
It’s been a rough few months. The handy-wandy pandemic is starting to come to a close, hopefully. Fingers crossed. But something reared its ugly head at the beginning of this pandemic. Unfortunately, as all the other things start to leave our consciousness, like masking mandates and numbers percentages, the one thing that continues to stick around is productivity guilt.
Hi, my name is Madison, and I’m a therapist with Bright Spot Therapy in Farmington Hills, Michigan. We’re going to try to rid you of that nagging disappointment that says, “I haven’t done enough.” That thing called productivity guilt.
Productivity Guilt. Guilt is super useful; it’s a helpful emotion. So when you’re doing something that contradicts your personal morals and values, it moves you into action and helps you make changes for the future. But productivity guilt is a different animal. It disarms you and keeps you in the present, focusing on what you’re not doing and urges you to compare yourself to others. This ultimately makes you feel less than, leading you down a path towards shame, and we all know shame very well. She can quickly turn into “What’s the point?” which ends up being the opposite of being productive.
So here are a few ways to release yourself from the hold of productivity guilt.
Productivity vs. Busyness
Know the difference. There’s a big difference between busyness and productivity. Busyness is when your time is filled with tasks; productivity is the state of doing something that moves you closer to reaching your values and goals. “I should clean every closet in my home today” is very different from “I’m going to focus on creating an organization program that I can sustain.”
Productivity vs. Procrastination
I don’t know if any of you struggle with this, but I certainly do. It seems like every month I decide that I’m going to become an expert in some hobby that I have no experience in. The beginning of the pandemic was no different. So, I ordered a watercolor set online when the quarantine was initiated, and I told myself that I would dive in wholeheartedly to every online tutorial so that one day I could open an Etsy store and sell my paintings for the world to enjoy. Spoiler alert: I still haven’t removed the plastic from those watercolors, and I’ve only watched a few minutes of one tutorial. But you know what? That’s okay. I would rather wait until I’m inspired instead of forcing myself into a place of apathy, which would undoubtedly affect my creativity and passion to sustain that hobby. When you don’t look forward to something, procrastination rears its ugly head, and when procrastination enters the chat, it reinforces productivity guilt.
Be Your Own Best Friend
Be your own best friend. Pat yourself on the back. Don’t “should” all over yourself. Celebrate yourself, recognize what you have accomplished versus what you have not. We fail to give ourselves credit for the daily tasks that we do complete, and when we do that, it makes the list of the things we haven’t done seem a whole lot longer than the list of the things that we have. “Should” statements are often followed by unrealistic and unfair expectations, yet we utter them multiple times a day.
Think of it this way: when you use a “should” statement, you’re unconsciously following it up with “or else I’m a failure,” “or else I’m a loser,” “or else I’m unsuccessful.” And is that true? No. So watch those “shoulds,” try to phrase what you’d like to do as a preference versus an absolute. “I’d like to eat healthier” is very different from “I should eat healthier or else I’m a failure.”
Another thing to keep in mind is that we often give grace to our best friends way more than we do to ourselves. When I hear a friend say they feel like they’re not doing enough or when they’re operating from a place of scarcity, I’m quick to remind them that self-care is essential to refill their bucket. That way, they’ll have the stamina to do the things that they really want to do. Let’s try to speak to ourselves with the same kind of kindness.
Celebrate
Remember, celebrate. Like Madonna said, you know, in an age of bullet journals and “Did you see my Instagram post?” we’re constantly inundated with what other people are doing. There’s no trophy, no golden ticket, no award for getting all the likes. Feeling accomplished is the prize, but if you never stop and take stock of what you have accomplished and you’re already on to the next task, you miss the benefit. If you’re having trouble managing productivity guilt, let’s connect and tackle it together. Here’s our information: (248) 296-3104
LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY GUILT? CHECK OUT THESE LINKS:
How to Avoid Productivity Guilt. – https://www.lifehack.org/335662/how-avoid-productivity-guilt-and-become-more-productive-the-process
A Survival Guide to Productivity Guilt. – https://www.ualberta.ca/youalberta/2022/11/a-survival-guide-to-productivity-guilt.html
