Productivity Guilt And Anxiety: Life On The Hamster Wheel

A common problem I come across with my clients is their productivity guilt, whereby they’re anxious about not using any and all of their free time to do productive things. This obviously comes at the cost of their wellbeing. So why do so many people feel that taking time for themselves to relax is a bad thing? Let’s find out.

 

 

What Is Productivity?

 

People often see productivity as being how much a person can get done (BetterUp), which often means checking things off their to-do list. This is meant to show how efficient a person is. This view is also shared by Indeed, which states that productivity is how much a person or group can get done within a certain amount of time. Going on to say that greater productivity means getting more done in less time or with less effort. Now all that sounds good on paper, but evidence shows this isn’t always the most efficient way to be.

 

By the above logic, a workaholic should be the most productive person out there. But that isn’t necessarily the case. A workaholic might appear highly productive, but according to Psychology Today, the evidence suggests this is an illusion. They argue that anyone who constantly works tends to work less efficiently and will struggle to maintain focus. Such people also have a significantly higher risk of anxiety and depression, which will harm their productivity.

 

 

What Is Productivity Guilt And Anxiety

 

Unfortunately, the idea of doing nothing can cause people to feel anxious, made worse if they’re also feeling bored, which can make things feel even more unproductive (Calm). This is because society has trained us to believe we should always be productive or engaged in activity. We’ve bought into the cult of productivity, where productivity and busyness are seen as equalling success and value (Calendar).

 

This can also tap into our brain’s completion bias, whereby we’re driven to complete something we’ve started in return for our body’s chemical reward for completing such tasks (The Cut). This is why we shouldn’t rely on motivation to start tasks, but rather try using our self-discipline, because once we start a task, we’re then hard-wired to complete that task.

 

Productivity guilt and anxiety are very real things, and can quickly lead to negative core beliefs like, “I’m not good enough” (Calendar). This is yet another reason to tackle our productivity guilt and anxiety.

 

There are many forms of productivity guilt and anxiety, and the completion bias plays a role in one of them. According to Everywoman, this was first observed by the 20th-century psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, who speculated that people remember unfinished tasks better than ones they’ve completed. My article on to-do lists also supports this speculation.

 

In my article, I talk about how our brains use intrusive thoughts to remind us of unfinished tasks. One way to get around this issue was to keep a to-do list so you can free mental resources for other things. Your brain won’t seek to remind you if you have a reminder written down.

 

 

People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) might be especially at risk from productivity guilt and anxiety, but for different reasons. According to MentalCurve, people with BPD can feel the pressure to do something more productive, but if there’s a lack of meaning and purpose in what they could be doing, there’s no motivation to start. This reflects my own experience and something I’ve reported often to my therapists over the decades.

 

I always wondered why I found it hard to do things, and this would explain it. I’ve always explained to my therapists that I find it hard to do something if there is no purpose in it, no matter how basic the task. This can also work the other way around, whereby someone with BPD finds something that gives them meaning, then they may become hyper-focused, ignoring other tasks, and burning themselves out (MentalCurve). Although this rings true to me, I’ve yet to find peer-reviewed articles that either support or deny this being an issue for people with BPD. So take it with a pinch of salt.

 

Another way our productivity guilt and anxiety can harm us is how it can push us to complete smaller, more easier tasks, over bigger and often more important ones (The Cut). This is how our drive to be productive might not always lead us to the most efficient outcome. After all, why not get that reward for completing several easier tasks than the one shot of reward for doing a bigger and harder task?

 

Too many of us are trapped in low-level productivity guilt and anxiety, where we keep telling ourselves we “should” be doing more or that we’re not doing everything we “should” be doing (Everywoman). However, this is a cognitive bias. “Should” statements are when we bind ourselves by arbitrary rules on how we, others, and the world should operate, coupled with overestimations of how awful it would be if these expectations aren’t met (Psychology Tools).

 

 

Part of the way we’ve become conditioned to be as productive as possible, even at the cost of our wellbeing, is how connected we’ve become as a species. In the digital age, we live in a time of instant communication, whereby no one is expected to be unreachable no matter the time of day.

 

Murphy (2007) argues that the ability to always be contactable can be too much of a good thing. We may live longer, but the scarcest thing we have is time. They argue that 200 years ago, the richest societies had too much unused time. Something we can also dream of today. We’ve now come to expect things to happen in an instant, causing us to consider time wasted as being a thief of our previous time commodity.

 

One of the big problems with productivity guilt and anxiety is how quickly that can become stress. Every time we don’t feel like we’ve done enough, that’s adding to our stress. This can then quickly lead to us feeling overwhelmed, causing us to burn out. Thus, being productive stops being a skill that uses your time more efficiently, and becomes an unrelenting war drum pressing you forward (Todolist).

 

Ferreira (2022) gave a good example of how productivity guilt and anxiety can affect us. They got us to consider how if someone spent the morning wandering around and looking at the trees, they’d return to work with an overflowing inbox, potential missed meetings, and a truckload of notifications that would make them worry about their employment.

 

 

However, the problem with this kind of thinking is that there’ll always be more work to do (todolist). No matter how productive you are, there’s going to be more work to do. So instead of feeling productivity guilt and anxiety, where you might blur the lines between work and personal time, why not put your wellbeing first?

 

So the question of whether it is ok to not be productive is the wrong question, when really we should be asking ourselves if relentless productivity is good for us. Humans aren’t machines, but having unproductive time can also help us be more productive. As Psychology Today points out, idleness not only helps recharge our mind and body but also allows us to be creative and aids with problem-solving.

 

Although we may be at rest, that doesn’t mean our subconscious is, and this is how we can problem solve while doing nothing to try to solve said problem. This is what is called a positive intrusive thought, whereby our subconscious will work on the problem in the background, making us aware of it once it believes it’s found a solution. How many times have you been stuck on something for a while, decided to take a break, and suddenly a solution pops into your head?

 

Too many of us look at productivity like it’s something that can be won, making us obsessed with trying to get as much done as humanly possible (Intelligent Change). This can also lead to us making comparisons to others we believe are more productive than us, which has been made easier thanks to social media. But how does making such comparisons help you? There is only so much time in the day, and for the sake of your wellbeing, we must not allocate all that time to productivity.

 

If you’re never going to feel like you’ve done enough, then trying to do more isn’t likely to change that (todolist). Allow yourself time to engage in a hobby, watch TV, and go for a walk. Take back your precious time.

 

 

How To Manage And Overcome Productivity Guilt And Anxiety

 

Tracking

Because we’re prone to a negativity bias, we focus more on the items we didn’t tick off our to-do lists, meaning we lose perspective on how much we’ve actually done (Everywoman). Tracking the tasks you have done can help shift your focus from the negative. This was something I recently suggested to a client who had been incredibly productive but still felt they hadn’t been. Once they started tracking their completed tasks, they were able to acknowledge that they had indeed been very productive.

 

Take breaks

One of the signs you’re trapped in productivity guilt and anxiety is if you work in your free time, you aren’t taking annual leave, or are trying to work even when you’re sick (Gannett Fleming). Create a clear separation between work and life. Establishing an end-of-work routine can help cement this separation. Most of all, always use your annual leave. You’re entitled to it.

 

Reframing

Leisure activities, like yoga and other hobbies, often get dismissed for the sake of being more productive instead. One way to tackle this might be to reframe such activities as being productive (Everywoman) in that these kinds of activities recharge us and give us the mental strength to be more productive. They help us to unwind and reduce our levels of stress. Again, this is something I’ve done with a client, and it helped them re-engage with their hobbies and interests. You should also consider the law of diminishing returns, or flogging a dead horse.

 

It’s also worth reframing your thinking in other ways as well. Calendar suggests we reframe how we see things as being done, focusing on progress made instead. It’s important to acknowledge any progress made, otherwise that negativity bias will creep back in. Also, remember it is progress, not perfection, that counts. Good enough will always be, good enough.

 

Expectations

Challenge your productivity beliefs and get rid of unrealistic expectations, as those are just setting you up to fail (Calendar). We need to become more aware of the expectations we create for ourselves and where those expectations come from. Our capitalist society might cause us to feel the pressure to be busy, with work and schools controlling what the expectations like look in those environments, but outside of those environments, set your own reasonable expectations (Connected Mindsets). Weigh up if productivity is more important to you than spending quality time with friends and family.

 

Kindness

It doesn’t cost anything to be kind to others, but that also applies to being kind to yourself. What’s more, if you’re kind to yourself, you’ll notice a lot more positive changes, as being kind to oneself helps develop a more positive mindset. A good place to start might be to keep a positive self-talk diary.

 

 

Self-worth

If you’ve connected your sense of self-worth to what others think of you and your achievements, then you’re setting life to the hardest setting. You’ll be trapped in a loop, whereby you’ll be constantly seeking external validation (Gannett Fleming).

 

Ask yourself, how does it help and harm you to seek external validation rather than internal validation? Also, how does it help you to work yourself until you burnout? It’s not good for you, it’s not good for your family, and it’s not good for work.

 

Consider creating SMART goals for yourself, rather than letting others dictate what your goals are. Remember, your value doesn’t come from an arbitrary competition with other people.

 

Create healthy boundaries

Life is hard at the best of times, but without healthy boundaries, we can quickly find ourselves having a much more difficult time with it. Therefore, work on your boundaries, especially the boundaries that help separate and maintain your work/life balance. One that I follow is not to engage with work-related messages or emails outside of my work hours.

 

Control

Often we use busyness, a false version of being productive, as a way to feel like we have been productive (Gannett Fleming). But we can be busy without being productive. When we experience productivity guilt and anxiety, we often try to soothe this by being busy. Thus, remove things from your day that aren’t a priority and don’t provide value. At work, find out what the right priority is for the work you have. This is a far better way to return that sense of control, while also allowing you to be more productive.

 

Making time to problem-solve and work through any lingering worries is also another way to be in control while being productive. Often, we leave our worries alone to live in our heads rent-free, and the longer they live there, the harder they are to deal with. Tackling such worries as soon as possible can reduce a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety.

 

 

Summary

 

Although it can be nice to be productive, it’s the be-all and end-all when it comes to life. Not only is downtime important for our wellbeing, but it’s also important for our ability to be productive. Don’t let your negative thoughts or mindset trick you into thinking otherwise. If you need help to adopt a more positive mindset so you don’t have these kinds of thoughts in the first place, then consider taking on one of the many positive psychology interventions. For example, developing better positive self-talk or keeping a positivity journal.

 

Don’t get stuck on the hamster wheel.

 

As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with productivity guilt and anxiety in the comments section below as well. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.

 

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References

 

Ferreira, J. B. (2022). Exhausted and not doing enough? The productivity paradox of contemporary academia. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 8(2), 181-191. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405872622000181.

Murphy, P. (2007). ‘You Are Wasting My Time’: Why Limits on Connectivity Are Essential for Economies of Creativity. University of Auckland Business Review, 9(2). Retrieved from https://eprints.jcu.edu.au/22563/4/22563_Murphy_Limits_of_Connectivity_2007.pdf.