{"id":6127,"date":"2019-07-29T13:36:52","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T18:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5bd4f92546.nxcli.net\/?p=6127"},"modified":"2019-08-06T13:41:15","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T18:41:15","slug":"are-you-obsessed-with-being-productive-heres-why-thats-counterproductive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluecotton.com\/blog\/career\/are-you-obsessed-with-being-productive-heres-why-thats-counterproductive\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Obsessed With Being Productive? Here’s Why That’s Counterproductive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are never enough hours in the day. There\u2019s always more work to be done. Always another task you need to finish, another item to check off your to-do list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

We are obsessed with doing more. Obsessed with squeezing every last ounce of productivity out of every waking minute. And that obsession, if left unchecked, will kill us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the one hand, there\u2019s nothing wrong with looking for ways to optimize your working hours. There\u2019s nothing wrong with trying to develop better time-management skills. Where a productivity obsession becomes unhealthy is when it breaks down your work-life balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you start working long, irregular hours in the interest of getting more done, sacrificing your personal and social life just so you can do more work. When you start feeling guilty for \u201cwasting time\u201d if you take even a single <\/em>break. When all you can think and talk about is how busy you are, how stressed you feel, and how you don\u2019t have time for any personal pursuits.  When you work not because you want <\/em>to work, but because you feel like you have <\/em>to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is, notes performance coach and Licensed Master Social Worker Melody Wilding<\/a>, the behavior of an addict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAddiction to productivity is a real thing – similar to dependence on a substance or food – that leads to maladaptive behavior,\u201d she said. \u201cClinically speaking, addiction occurs when someone is engaged in behavior that\u2019s pleasurable, but the continued use or act becomes compulsive to the point of interfering with normal life responsibilities (work, relationships, or health). To make matters worse, an addict may not be aware that his or her behavior is out of control.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a way, being addicted to productivity – in other words, being a workaholic – is almost worse than being addicted to gambling or alcohol. Workaholism is socially acceptable. <\/em>You might even be praised<\/em> for your hard work, lauded for how much you get done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not sustainable<\/a>, as pointed out by talent recruitment agency Hedley Scott. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inevitably, as you try to cram more and more work into every hour, the rest of your life will start to suffer.  The effects of excessive stress on the body have already been well-documented. As noted by healthcare agency Mayo Clinic<\/a>, they include but are not limited to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n