Toxic Productivity & 3 Ways to Break the Chain
Psst…This is real and happening to the best of us
“I need to constantly keep working”
“I feel guilty while resting — should always be on the move, otherwise it's a waste of time”
“I need to keep achieving all the time”
Do these statements sound familiar to you? Can you identify yourself as someone who has this innate need to always be engaged in something without taking breaks? Does “hustling harder” or “being productive all the time” sound like something you do daily?
Well, then chances are you are a victim of “Toxic Productivity”
What is Toxic Productivity?
Well, to be fair, in this pandemic we all have felt the consistent urge to be productive or do something worthwhile with our times. If this need or obsession goes unchecked it can slowly escalate into toxic productivity.
Personally, I can relate to this.
It feels like I constantly need to do something that will yield results like I need to be on the go and achieve something — otherwise, everything is a sheer waste of time.
And mind you!
I have done it, to the extent that it had affected my health. I was swirling in the “hustle culture” and adding fuel to the fire by being in it all: from working my corporate 9–5 job to writing poetry, to creating content for YouTube and Instagram, to learning online courses — just to be productive and keep myself busy.
Bottom line — I was productive but it got TOXIC.
So, how did I identify it?
It started with me feeling “guilty” when I am relaxing. Even on time off, like the weekends or holidays, I was glued to my laptop — searching for podcasts, courses and other ways I can improve myself and utilise time. Everything other than work felt like a mere “waste of time”.
Self-care, relationships, social life, recreation, family time — had all taken a backseat as I only focused on being productive and achieving results. Every time I relaxed I felt that “Oh I could be doing this, or could be working on this right now”.
It had gotten to me.
That’s when I knew I needed to step up and change from my comfort zone!
What’s fuelling this behaviour?
Toxic productivity usually surfaces when there are certain patterns from childhood that pop up in your life now. You could be an overachiever or have this fear of failure and “not being good enough” that’s leading you to take up this unhealthy obsession.
What happens when a workaholic can’t go to work? Or an overachiever is confined to the home — for whatever reasons? It surfaces as toxic productivity. The need to always be on the go, to always have some quick results and feel good about yourself.
When you take the work out of a workaholic, a whole other level of behavioural addiction emerges and that is — toxic productivity.
At some point in your life, you have felt that “Oh if I can always achieve something or win at life, I am a worthy person!” These narratives have driven you to a point where you feel that resting and sleeping is not required as it is a possible “waste of time” and instead you’d rather be upskilling or mapping your goals to be successful in some aspect of your life.
Your feel-good neurotransmitter — Dopamine, which is the rewarding hormone is always on the rise, every time you achieve something or get productive at the cost of your health.
The dopamine high gets you addicted to the behaviour just as alcohol or cigarettes. Toxic productivity is an addiction.
You become an addict to this pattern — and you need to break free.
How to Break Free from this Habit?
Building good habits in 2022, is one of the goals I have set for myself, and one of them involves steering clear from toxic productivity.
I have been working on my urges to constantly be occupied and busy with something, and here is what I will be listing out for you too!
- Healing your self-talk: Understand that you are only human, and you are enough with where you are. So talk to yourself, with positive self-fulfilling affirmations: “I am worthy”, “I am working hard”, “I will achieve my goals with the right kind of efforts”, “I should not overwork to the point that I have burnout”
- Reframe Goal Setting: Try including breaks and recreational activities that are non-negotiable in your daily routine. Like “Today I will take 20 minutes to exercise”, or “Today, I will meditate and relax for 45 minutes”. These help in rewiring your brain in breaking free from the patterns of toxic productivity and having holistic growth for you in the long term
- Defining Work-Life Boundaries: Having a chat with your coworkers about everyone’s mental and physical well-being will do you no harm! I recommend practising the SMART Model to allow yourself and others to achieve the maximum results at work and then taking adequate time off for your overall well-being. Taking breaks from work emails and phone calls should not feel like a crime, and gradually you can draw the boundaries hereby readjusting your work-life balance.
If you think you have toxic productivity, I genuinely hope this article has helped you identify and understand how to deal with it. Let’s have a vision of taking a break for ourselves and our mental well-being until this pandemic is over (argh!). Work, upskilling, courses, jobs will always be there, but won't last forever are your relations, your health and your overall well-being!
