The Productivity Trap
Are you growing or just staying busy?
Another click, another functional freeze. I know what to do, but I just need my hair to be perfect before I create content. My boundaries against toxic behavior are stronger, yet my resistance to starting that business makes me feel weak. I watch another motivational video to reaffirm the person I am becoming, rather than letting my actions prove it. I am growing. I promise. I know more about who I am and more about narcissists. This is something. This is improvement… or am I just staying busy?
Busyness looks like growth, yet there is no measurable progression or tangible proof of an elevated life. The rise of internet gurus has introduced a new mindset, packaged with a beverage sponsorship promising to satisfy our souls. Bob Marley would be proud. Capitalism is not entirely to blame, but our relentless aspiration for upward mobility has made busyness an ideal state of being. The more you accomplish in the morning, the more likely you are to make money. All you need is to do everything at once, overcome your people-pleasing tendencies, and complete 75 Hard three times a year. Impossible? Not quite, but it is a trap, an illusion that more is better. What happened to less being more?
Simplicity and focused attention on one task, one mindset, one goal at a time—that is productivity. Yet, the metric for success is shifting again. Your sole passion project makes your efforts feel insignificant, like searching for a unique last name of an indie author in a bookstore. You are close, but you feel stagnant. Busyness may complement productivity, but it is not productivity. Busyness is how you perceive and describe the time you occupy. Productivity, on the other hand, produces tangible or intangible results that bring you closer to the person you want to become. Productivity does not require busyness. In fact, my most productive days are when I allow a single task to give me a sense of accomplishment.
The inability to feel productive stems from the way we have been conditioned to view success. Too many people profit from your subconscious motivations, convincing you that you need to do more. And maybe you do. The truth hurts sometimes. But action must be your driving force. Intentional focus on one thing at a time is a greater testament to productivity than constant motion. Busyness has deceived many of us into believing we are prioritizing what truly matters. Your inability to tune out the world’s opinions is a problem. As the poet, author, and absolute powerhouse Tricia Hersey once said, “Rest is resistance.” Take your time. That is the only way to make the best use of it. You are not behind. You just need to reclaim your productivity and tailor it to fit you like a custom suit.
Be productive. Busyness is unnecessary.
With love,
Temwani