Why It’s Okay to Not Always Be Productive
Productivity is one of the most prevalent topics in today’s society. Everyone wants to learn how to be more productive, how to make better use of their time and how to achieve their goals more effectively. While there is a group of people (usually the LinkedIn addicts) who will tell you that if you aren’t waking up at 5am every day, working on your first start-up whilst simultaneously learning three languages and going to the gym five times a week you aren’t being productive, I personally believe that productivity is a journey, not a destination.
There are so many everyday things which can throw you off balance. Whether it’s an unexpected illness, a car breaking down, a global pandemic, it’s almost impossible to be on top of your schedule 100% of the time and that’s okay. Having time out should be normalised. We’re expected to spend 40 hours a week at our full-time jobs and then continue our part-time roles as a cleaner, chef, childminder etc., in our own homes.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t aspire to be the most productive version of ourselves. However when I read blog articles encouraging people to keep up the hustle at the weekend otherwise they won’t be successful or saying that while they’re sleeping other people are overtaking them, I can’t help but question whether that’s truly a healthy mindset to instil into a generation where one in six young people suffer with a mental health condition.
Instead of enforcing that productivity is only a positive correlation with the number of hours you work without taking a break, we should equip people with the necessary skills to manage their own productivity, in whichever form that takes. Whether that’s how to make a realistic schedule or managing a budget, we need to be better at acknowledging that everyone is on their own individual journey and that productivity across people can look completely different.
