Productivity is everything in today’s culture. That and positivity. If you can somehow do more and more and more while still being completely happy about it, then you are (in the view of most people) awesome.

Unfortunately, this drive to do more can be very addictive.

It can be addictive especially because it focuses on the now, and on getting quick results. Like any other addiction, it knows no bounds. It goes with the logic of, “if some can make me happy, then more will make me very happy“.

Productivity is everything in today’s culture. The more productive you are, the better you are. (or so they say)

It’s helped further by having every element in society encouraging you. The more you do, the more society encourages you and tells you…

…the better you are.

Bottom-line? Productivity is addictive.

Dammit! Stop being so productive!

That’s the thing though. Like any other addiction, you have a few stages:

  • It begins with a problem that the individual cannot resolve or an emotional void that he then fills by trying an addictive substance or engaging in an addictive behaviour. Feeling that life isn’t moving forward so he starts doing more.

  • The person feels good after trying the substance or behaviour – at least, temporarily. Achieving things and doing things feels positive.

  • Because the drugs or alcohol, for example, appear to resolve the problems or underlying feelings of anxiety, depression, worthlessness, etc., the person continues to use them in order to avoid the return of those feelings. He doesn’t want to lose the positive feelings so he busies himself with even more things to do & achieve.

  • He or she uses them to deaden pain, to achieve euphoria, and/or relief from stress and problems. This distracts him from his problems.

  • Sooner or later, gradual use turns to more frequent use, which, in turn, often leads to compulsive use and addiction. He starts doing so much that he doesn’t have time for himself or to think about his future.

  • When fully addicted, the individual loses all self-control, and every waking moment becomes consumed with thoughts of the next use – despite serious negative consequences as a result of the addictive behaviour. Even though he’s losing touch with friends & family, all he can think of is the next programme/seminar/activity he will be joining.

  • Some addicts recognize the problem and seek treatment, often with the best intentions. They may, however, not seek formal treatment and attempt to kick the habit on their own. The result is usually predictable: their efforts at abstinence fail and they resume their addictive behaviour. When he’s overworked, he’ll cut back a bit, but will later on feel guilty about not “living up to his potential” and go right back to bingeing on being productive.

Credit: http://www.drugrehabwiki.com/wiki/Addiction_cycle#Phases_of_the_Addiction_Cycle

As you can see, the definition of productivity that I choose here is the one that most closely resembles what 95% of the society is expecting from you. Join more NGOs, help more social welfare issues, save the environment, join seminars on cool things like the TED talks, study harder, and generally get more work done.

See? All that stuff sounded good to you didn’t it? You’re part of the 95%.

This isn’t to say that all that stuff is bad. But, as with any other addiction, the key is responsible behaviour. The key is knowing when to stop.

Shopping, eating, gambling, porn, video games, internet, exercise. These are a few of the major behaviours that can be considered addictions when you don’t know how to stop.

The key is knowing when to stop.

For all those other habits though, we generally have a society that will warn you away from eating too much, or shopping too much. It’s considered bad to do too much of any of that. But productivity? Everybody will keep encouraging you and praising you for being so productive.* (Exercise has the same problem)*

The problem with being too productive

The productivity that society often notices is biased toward work and achievements. This also means that spending more time being productive means spending less time with friends and family. You’re cutting out the parts of your life that matter and unintentionally sabotaging your relationships with the people around you.

Worse, you think that what you’re doing is good.

In fact, you feel guilty when you start to cut back on “being productive” and want to enjoy some free time.

This is stuff I’ve been through before. I know how it feels. Remember stage 7 above? I’m in danger of it right now. Luckily, I’ve been through it before and I noticed when I started taking too much on my plate and getting overworked.

I understand that there are quite a few people who can fully control themselves. That’s awesome. This post is not for you.

I also understand that there are many who really don’t live up to their potentials and waste their life. This post is also not for you. Don’t skip work and justify to yourself that you don’t want to overwork yourself. Trust me, you’ll know when you’re overworking yourself and not spending enough time with friends and family. You’ll start feeling guilty that you’re not spending enough time with them.

When you start feeling guilty that you’re not spending time with your closest loved ones, it’s time to check if you have a productivity addiction.

Who knew there was such a thing?