Why toxic productivity is actually getting in the way of your success
Why toxic productivity is actually getting in the way of your success
Today's post is a bit vulnerable and scary because as a time management coach I'm sharing with you my biggest time management mistake.
I’m sharing it with you because hopefully, you resonate with me. By the end of this post, you will also know how it is costing you so much time + energy in your life and business.
So when lockdown started I got at least 10 emails from a bunch of different companies offering free art classes, finance classes, knitting classes, and all these different things that I could do.
Now that I “had the time” guess what I did? I signed up for all of them.
Deep down I felt that I needed to make the most of this time now that we were stuck inside of our homes.
If you felt this way too, comment below just to tell me “Yes, I feel you Becca.” Tell me I'm not alone in this!
This is a super small example of a bigger picture issue that we have as humans in our society today. On a normal basis, pre-pandemic pre-COVID, we are bombarded with productivity hacks, tips, tricks, and tools to make every moment productive as possible. If you google productivity, you will get around 500 million results.
When we are students in school, as children, we are rewarded for getting the most done, the quickest possible, the best output. We're impressed by people who can pull all-nighters. In our industry, entrepreneurs boast about working 80 hours a week and never sleeping or having time for themselves.
Rarely do we celebrate people who have a healthy work balance, who get a good night's sleep, who take care of themselves and have tons of time off to rest and to do whatever they want.
So when the pandemic hit globally, in the United States, many of us didn't have our commutes to our nine to fives anymore. We didn't have plans to go out with friends or spend time with family that didn’t live with us. We had “nothing else to do”, so we could finally get to all of the house projects, courses, books, starting the business, and growing exponentially.
—> A statistic that just backs up what I'm saying is Home Depot increase its revenue by 20% from February 2020 to January 2021. They made 132 billion dollars in revenue.
At the same time, companies and many people felt like our focus, energy, and output would be the exact same or somehow even better during a really traumatic, huge shift in everyday life. So many people lost loved ones, got sick, and lost jobs. Yet we continue to expect ourselves to be productive at the expense of our humanness.
Since lockdown began, it became clear to so many people that toxic productivity is our biggest time management mistake as a society. And it was mine too, even being someone who knew how important resting and taking time off is. Even as a time management coach, I was still pressuring myself to be productive at the expense of the things that I thought I valued and cared about.
The mistake of toxic productivity
Why is toxic productivity a mistake?
A business owner I have worked with recently asked me why is it such a mistake or why is it a bad thing that I want to be productive and work. My answer was, “there is nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to grow the thing that you are passionate about, the business, the life that you are trying to create. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be productive, it's when it becomes toxic.”
When it becomes toxic, you only care about productivity, making every single moment productive and have an output or result you are chasing after something that is not really ever going to happen.
We believe this fallacy of productivity, that we'll finally get everything on our to-do list done one day. So we're always doing more, more, more, and more to try and get to that one day where we can rest, take time off, and make time for ourselves.
Productivity becomes toxic when all you do is try and get to that one day. That's what creates a hamster wheel because it never happens. Your to-do list will never end and when you believe you'll finally get to that one day, the things that you do get done never feel like enough.
All of that creates a lot of self-confidence issues, it causes unhealthy self-care habits, you start to put your worth into your productivity and the output that you create.
That has a lot of detrimental impacts on your business and your life.
In my personal experience, I was in the hospital with an intestine infection, never really having major health issues before. I developed a severe intestine infection and was in the hospital trying to meet a deadline! I had my computer with me in the hospital trying to work on an essay. At the time I was in college as an engineering student. I didn't really care about English at all (sorry to my teacher) and yet, I was unconsciously choosing to be productive over resting and caring about myself.
That's how bad it can get. Obviously, that is a pretty severe "rock bottom” in terms of burnout and productivity. It doesn't have to be severe at all it can just be you unable to sit on the couch and enjoy an evening with your family or even with yourself.
How to know if your productivity is toxic?
You have trouble sitting still and resting.
You continue to work when you know that you're tired, achy, and not in the mood to work.
You feel like being bored is a bad thing.
There's this just constant need for self-improvement, just more, more and more which leads to a lot of impacts on our mental and physical health like depression, anxiety, and strained relationships.
Choosing work over yourself and which leads to a lot of self-mistrust.
That's my experience and that is the experience of many of the clients that I work with.
How to reverse the impacts of toxic productivity
If you relate to any of the things that I just mentioned, I want to share with you two super simple things that I had to do and that I help the folks do in my coaching program. There are so many things that you can do to start reversing the impacts of toxic productivity and hustle culture.
1.The first thing that you can do is reframing what productive means to you.
A lot of times we think that just resting, relaxing, and spending time with family isn't productive and I would love to cut that out, it is 100% productive. Anything that is of value or importance to you is productive. Being alive, being a human, it's not just about work, it is not just creating results and output. Anything that means something to you is productive and I will say this over and over and over and over and over again.
Once you figure out what is of value or what is important to you then just remind yourself every time that you spend time on those things, you're being productive!
2. The second tip that I want to share with you is, the best lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle.
There are so many statistics and studies coming out around how being healthy is the best thing you can do for work, productivity, your business, for yourself, for your family.
When you are falling into the biggest time management mistake, aka toxic productivity, you put work over health, work over self. Putting your health number one is the most basic thing that you can do to step off the hamster wheel.
At the end of the day, we need to rest, we need to train ourselves to put ourselves first.
The next question that you are going to ask me is how, how do I reframe what's productive? How do I put myself first? How do I create a healthier work-life balance?
There is no one solution. I can't give you in this short post what the how is. The how comes from inside of you, it is unique to you.
This is beautiful because that means it's going to work, you just have to figure out what is inside of you and how to make that happen. So if you want to step off of the toxic productivity hamster wheel, if you want to be mentally and physically healthier and happier. If you want to be more compassionate with yourself. And if you want to feel like there is all of the time in the world for everything that you need to get done… the answers are inside of you. And I can support you in unearthing your answers in my 1:1 coaching program.
I know how hard it is to peel yourself away from your laptop, from work, from the business that you're building. I know how hard it is when you know how toxic a productivity mindset can be and yet still fall victim to it and not be able to rest, take time off and put yourself first. So if that's you, you are in good company here. Trust me when I say that I am here to help you break up with toxic productivity and step off that hamster wheel so you can start resting and start living life in the way that you want to.
If you resonated with my biggest time management mistake, let me know in the comments below.
Ready to heal time scarcity and live into your values? Click here to get free + supportive resources!
The five minute mindfulness meditation for when you feel like quitting
The 5 minute mindfulness meditation for when you feel like quitting
I've 100% had moments that I wanted to quit my business!
I wanted to just run away, throw in the towel, and just, not have to deal with it anymore…
It was just too complicated and too much. If you have been in that situation or if you're in that situation right now, at this moment, I want you to know that it is 100% normal to have this experience when you are starting your business!
I made this 5-minute meditation for you so you can come back to who you are deep down. You can release any of the things that are weighing you down. You can come back to why you started your business in the first place so you can be re-motivated, reinvigorated, reignited in your passions and your drive to change the world + to do amazing things with your business.
If when you feel like quitting or it's just too much for you, come back to this 5-minute meditation, come back to this exercise. Just take a few minutes to go inwards, to breathe, be with yourself. That is the most beautiful thing that you can do to take care of yourself.
For whatever reason, if you feel like quitting your business and you need support. Someone to help you go inwards and figure out what's going on and how to be more intentional with your time so you don't feel so overwhelmed and like it's just too much to handle I’m here to support you.
Want to feel confident, in control, and at peace with your time? Click here to get free + supportive resources!
The 5 Lessons I Really Learned In 2020
The 5 lessons I really learned in 2020
2020 is almost over! What the hell just happened?
This year we’ve had a pandemic, social uprisings in support of the black lives matter movement, an election, and hurricanes and wildfires… all in just the United States. Inside each of our homes, we’ve all experienced massive transformations and shifts in our work lives and in our personal lives.
For all of us, it has been a truly chaotic and unique year. For me? No different. I started my business, quit my engineering job, and started traveling full-time. That’s why I wanted to share with you the five biggest lessons that I learned this year in my business and in my personal life, after taking some time to reflect*.
*As a caveat, if you are still processing and grieving you don't need to go searching for the lessons or always find the positive. You are allowed to feel angry, upset, or have any other feeling. Grief is normal.
Lesson #1: You’ll never feel totally ready
So my first lesson of 2020 is that no matter how “ready” financially, mentally, or emotionally you are, it is always going to be terrifying to leave your “safe” 9 to 5.
There is a huge wave of people who are building a business from their cubicles, excited and hoping for the day when they’ll be ready to leave their 9 to 5.
This year was the year that my husband and I had prepared to take a “sabbatical”, if you will, move and travel around the world and spend time with family.
When COVID hit, obviously we were not able to backpack Europe. But, we still chose to give away the majority of the material things that we had, move closer to family, spend time with them, rest, and take care of ourselves.
When it came down to the last remaining weeks at my job, I was a stress ball. I cried a ton. I couldn't think about anything else and it was so scary.
If you are an entrepreneur who is dying for the day when you’ll leave your 9 to 5, no matter how much you prepare, the moment that it happens will probably still feel terrifying. At least it did for me.
The lesson is, be prepared to not feel prepared. And do it anyway.
Lesson #2: Less truly is better
I finished my time management coaching training in January of 2020, then immediately started working with business owners. The common theme?
Saying “no” or pruning things is the key to making the most of our time.
This was the year that I truly, truly learned that, and maybe you did as well.
When COVID really locked us down in the US in March, I was stripped of driving to my 9 to 5. I stopped teaching yoga multiple times a week. Going out and hanging out with friends or eating out was not possible.
The only things I had to do were work my 9 to 5 job, take care of myself, and grow my business.
Those were the three main priorities that I had. Everything else basically vanished almost overnight. This allowed me to grow my business fairly fast while still being able to take care of myself, spend time with my husband, cook (I love cooking), clean (also love cleaning).
2020 was the year of learning the importance and impact of actually saying no.
Lesson #3: Working too much stops you from being you
When I work all the time, focus only on checking things off my to-do list, and trying to get further ahead in my business and life… I lose myself.
I forget how to slow down, rest, and just be me.
Then after I would lose myself, trying to slow down and rest would feel impossible. I would justify it by saying, “I am working a 9 to 5, growing a business, and have all the other life stuff to take care of… I’ll slow down when I leave my 9 to 5.”
Before this year, I didn’t really know what true rest was. Even though I knew all of the science and facts that resting was going to make me more productive and intentionally happy, I still couldn't “do” it.
I finally learned what it feels like to rest, and how to work towards my goals without losing myself.
In the beginning, it wasn't pretty. In order for me to rest, I had to compassionately, and sort of forcefully, make myself rest. I had to make it a non-negotiable in my schedule even if I was working on things.
I am so grateful to have a somatic therapist who is helping me slow down and rest in a compassionate and gentle way.
Once I was able to let go of my “tight grip” around needing to do more and more, it really opened up my body, my heart, and my mind in a way that I've never been able to experience before.
I created the space that I was always after by going inwards.
So, no matter how much you know you're supposed to slow down and rest, it can still be extremely hard. Having support from those around me was key.
Want to enjoy the freedom and flexibility that you are craving? I’d love to help. Click here to read about working with me.
Lesson #4: Let your values values lead the way
This year has been eye-opening for me on what my core values are, what I believe in, how I stand and show up in those values.
I believe we, as a society, are slowly starting to realize that, not living in our values and communicating about all the important issues we're facing are preventing us from healing, growing, and actually changing as a society.
As a result of resting and properly taking care of myself, I was able to explore, go inwards, and grow a ton (see lesson #3).
Then, I was able to hire Bear Hebert, a radical business consultant, who was able to bring my values and who I am into my business.
Just like in my business, making sure that I spend my time in alignment with my core values, is equally important.
When I wasn’t clear on my core values and how to create a business and life around them, I felt lost. Now, I feel a lot less lost.
Lesson #5: Reckoning with my privilege
I learned how my privilege and my whiteness have advantaged me and my life, and at the same time contributed to the oppression of other groups and communities of people.
2020 has been a year of racial reckoning in the United States and some would say the globe as well. Due to the social uprisings in support of the black lives matter movement this year, I was able to confront my privilege in a deeper way than ever before.
I learned more about the oppressive laws structures and racist policies that our country still has in place, and continues to approve, that have done harm and continue to do harm against BIPOC communities across our country.
As I continue to listen and learn from anti-racism educators, listen to other people's experiences, and process my own lived experiences, I have been able to use my privilege to support and uplift the voices of black entrepreneurs across the country.
I've been able to take everything I have learned, processed, and continue to learn and apply it to what I do as a holistic time coach.
If you are reading this lesson and you are white or have white privilege reach out if you have any questions. We can start a dialogue around how to use our privilege to make this world more equitable.
What did you learn?
Those were my five biggest lessons of 2020. Pretty big lessons, right?
If you haven't checked it out already, I have another blog with some self-reflection questions that will help you end this year in a grounded space and start the new year prepared and aligned. Click here to read it.
I’d love to hear what your biggest lessons were! Share in the comment section below or send me an email.
It’s 2022 now! Are you ready to heal time scarcity and live into your values? Click here to get free + supportive resources!
The 3 best strategies to finally heal the multi tasker in you
The 3 best strategies to finally heal the multi tasker in you
As entrepreneurs, we end up getting stuck in a to-do list hamster wheel of busyness!
We end up feeling behind all the time on our own self-imposed deadlines and then, really struggle to balance our work and our lives so we end up trying to multitask.
If that is you, if you end up trying to multitask to get more things done in a day, this blog post is for you! I'm going to share three reasons why multitasking doesn't make you more productive and what to do instead so you can get more things done but in less time, less chaos, and less stress!
Our brains are not made to multitask!
What is the first reason why multitasking does not make you more productive? Our brains are not made to multitask, simple as that!
We are not made to do more than one thing at once. Our brains are designed to just accomplish one thing at a time. What we end up thinking is, multitasking is really just switching between things super fast or maybe even super slow. So putting all that pressure on your brain to do more than one thing at once is going against its nature.
It takes a lot more time to accomplish the few things that you're trying to accomplish at once and that is going to add so much stress onto your brain and onto yourself. A study on psychology today that showed how multi-taskers are 40% less productive and it can take as long as 25 minutes to resume working after an interruption or trying to switch to the other task. For example, if you end up checking Instagram while you are trying to write a blog post.
The best thing that we can do here is recognize, acknowledge and appreciate our human nature, our brains. This is where deep self-compassion comes into the picture.
What to do instead
When you find yourself trying to multitask because you feel behind or for whatever other reason, pause, remember that you, your brain just doesn’t work this way.
Then figure out what is the one task that you want to focus on, write it down on a piece of paper and have that front and center for you to remember.
This is a practice you're gonna keep coming back to. Just like if you've ever tried meditation and your brain starts thinking, you simply remember that you're thinking and come back to your breath.
Multitasking decreases your creativity
The next reason why multitasking does not make you more productive is that it kills your creativity.
When you're over there trying to switch between tasks, from task to task, your creativity is dampened, you probably have a lot harder time thinking outside of the box. Especially when you are trying to start your own business and be of service to other people, you're not going to be in that mindset or that frame of mind when you are just jumping from thing to thing.
And let's be honest, how many times have you had a brilliant idea when you're washing the dishes or in the shower? It's because, during those times, you are most likely just focusing on one thing.
The reason why that happens is that ideas are born from the prefrontal cortex, which is the forehead area, but this is the part of our brains that really truly can only focus on one thing at once.
So, as an entrepreneur, you know you need your most brainpower and your most creativity so it's not going to make you more productive by multitasking.
What to do instead
The solution here, or the way to move forward, is to define clear boundaries around your creative or deep thought focused time. Try to uphold them as best as possible, obviously knowing that this again, is a practice. You are never going to be perfect at upholding your boundaries and perfectionism is just not possible.
Multitasking takes you out of the present moment
The third reason why multitasking does not make you more productive is that you are not living or working in the present moment. When we race through life without truly experiencing all the small simple things about it, we are experiencing much less.
When we continue to try to multitask, eventually it does start to erode our focus and our ability to pay attention and stillness becomes completely impossible for us to even imagine integrating into our lives.
When you are present and add more mindfulness into your day-to-day, you are more able to focus and get more things done and do it without the stress and the chaos.