Chaithought: The productivity scam

saba1393
Feb 1, 2024
3 min read

The internet, especially social media is brimming with hacks to increase your productivity. From Pomodoro clocks to apps promising a boost in your productivity, everything is ready to lead you in this race. You just need to be familiar with Google.

A man holding a stopwatch — Ready, Set, Go!

Merriam-Webster defines productivity as “the quality or state of being productive”. But have you stopped to ask yourself what this effort is towards? When we drill down further productive means “yielding results, benefits, or profits”. But do we ask whether these results/benefits/profits are useful to us directly, or are we so blind as to be unable to see that the productivity race just helps us be better cogs in the wheels of large organizations chasing profits?

Those who have given it some thought could argue that, of course, their salary is directly beneficial to them and their family. To them, I would ask: once you’ve cleared the basic levels of the need hierarchy (physiological needs and safety and security needs), is your quest for productivity really worthwhile? Does it give you access to freedom of thought? Does it allow you to indulge in activities where you don’t have to keep track of time or output to know you’ve been productive? Or does the grind take such a toll on your physical and mental health that anything beyond sticking to your droll routine is too much for you? I’m not saying everyone is in the same boat. You might be already doing something you love, something that gets your heart going every day, something that aligns with your vision for yourself. If so, congratulations! You’ve made it!

For the majority who wonder whether such a way of life is actually possible, I invite you to sit with yourself periodically and give it some thought. You don’t want to regret years of life spent working too hard, going the extra mile, all for nothing. Working hard to reach a goal is not something I’m detracting from. I only implore you to take a closer look at your goal. I also understand that being able to consider these dilemmas requires some form of privilege – wealth, education, intelligence, or hitting the companionship jackpot. So, there are few who have never given it a thought at all. But whether ignorance really is bliss is a philosophical discussion for another time.

Through this article, I only want to propose a slower way of life: a life detached from the chase of more and more and more. By no measure do I claim to have achieved it. I am as much a slave to the urge to do more, be more, and have more as the next person. But in moments of stunning clarity, I face the truth that life would be much easier only if we could let it be. A life in which we were not consumed by our day jobs, and they were only a small part of our lives instead of an excuse to escape from having to think and be responsible for anything or anyone else. Where we had space to think about our motivations and our real plans for the future instead of only scrolling through relatable social media content. Where we could think about the well-being of others and ourselves, beyond the “me time” or “self-care” sold in the market. It truly seems like a utopian fantasy.

So beyond the fantasizing, what can we actually do? We could read something instead of watching a screen. We could indulge in a long-lost hobby or develop a new one now. Anything that lets us be present in the moment without a thought about time or output. We could do something with our hands. An article published in Psychology Today explains how working productively with our hands is profoundly pleasurable. Do anything, just keep your phone out of it. The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we are addicted to do not help. If anything, they lead to guilt later on.

On our quest to embrace a slower and more intentional way of living, let's explore together the myriad possibilities that unfold when we disconnect from the relentless pace of digital life. Stay tuned for more thought-provoking discussions.