REGENERATIVE FUTURE

A Feminine Way to Productivity

Rewilding my soul has made me way more productive

“Go out in the woods, go out. If you don’t go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin.” — Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The feminine way to productivity is a smoother, easier way for me. I’m on a path of rewilding my soul and it works way better than the masculine pushing, pulling, and forcing. I used to have that in my life when I was still working full-time in my corporate jobs.

Time was chiseled in stone for me. And hard work created results.

I was a headache girl, having migraines every month. Three days of being violently ill whenever my period arrived. I planned those at the weekends, using the pill. I’ve always been a responsible girl. I couldn’t be away from my job for three days every month!

Feeling my body was something far from my world. Let alone alignment with what I wanted to create. So how could I know about a feminine way of productivity?

All that changed when I found my purpose. I was in desperate need of freedom at that time. The year was 2013 and my career was very successful in the eyes of others. Not so much in my own eyes, though. I was using my talents, yes. But not for the things I wanted to create in life.

I was using my talents, yes. But not for the things I wanted to create in life.

My head was heavy, my spark was gone, and I tried to forget it all by binge-watching series on TV. I was hungry for purpose.

We live in a broken world. I saw that very clearly. And I wanted to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

But what did I do in my daily life? I sold high-tech machines. Talked to scientists that invented the next problem instead of a real solution. It felt more like working for industrial death than for regenerative life.

So, how did I change? And can you change, too? As soon as you find your way to feminine productivity, life will be much easier and flowy, I can tell you.

Words and methods

In the regenerative changemaker world where I’m working now as a freelancer, words and methods differ both. So let me start by giving you some words.

My old world was a very rational world. Our hearts didn’t speak more than asking how the holiday had been. We just pushed and pulled. We clocked our time of entrance. We sat at our desks and we created a plan. A rational plan for success.

The joy in my work came from intellectual sources. Scoring new orders, deep technological discussions, contacts with international clients, and coffee moments with my colleagues.

Whenever there was a hurdle, I fought to overcome it. I analyzed data and I drew rational conclusions. Adapted my plan and worked hard again to get results. I kept an eye on all the competitors who tried to be smarter than us. Often we won.

Okay, so how do I describe my current days with feminine productivity?

I found a rhythm that fits my body. I listen to my cycles. And instead of pushing and pulling, I have a feel for what projects want to be born. Projects come on my path because I make movements in the lake of opportunities. I’m out there. Connecting to people without ever selling.

Projects come on my path because I make movements in the lake of opportunities.

Selling my talents is not necessary. I show relevant aspects of my work in a connecting talk and then someone wants to involve my talents. Or not. That’s up to them. And time. And all the while, I’m just making an impact.

I spend lots of time making space in my brain. The winter is starting now in my part of the world, so I’m slowing down big time. Not so hard in these COVID times, so I seize the opportunity.

Being as relaxed as can be. Going with the flow. Not fighting for results, but midwife-ing whatever wants to be born. Of course, it involves work. But I choose what I do in a creative way.

Money is one of the value streams that’s coming my way. It’s enough. And I often volunteer. And then I’m paid in learnings, food, or a certain location in nature where I want to be.

I’ve found my purpose. And by now I’m in my very own, unique way part of the solution to our broken world. Instead of part of the problem. I learn every day by listening deeply and being immensely curious.

I learn every day by listening deeply and being immensely curious.

I make radical decisions on what I do and don’t do. I know my value and I ask for it if companies can pay it. The old money in the current economy needs to be transitioned. So I make sure they spend it on the regeneration.

Often I zoom out to see if I’m still on my path. I observe very clearly. And I use my intuition for most of my decisions.

Feminine Productivity

It sounds great, but it took me a journey to get where I am now. First of all, I had to become aware that there are different ways of achieving productivity.

The masculine way works from the outside-in. It is most often applied in our efficient, rationality-dominant world. You analyze, make a plan and push and pull to achieve the results. Often it also means cutting corners. You want quick results, so you don’t take responsibility for the longer-term negative consequences.

The feminine way works from the inside-out. It is the way of the new economy. Don’t think it can only be applied by women. I’ve seen many men do it, too. Being more in tune with life. Time works in cycles. I listen to what wants to be born. To be aligned with my purpose and connect to nature and life.

Top 3 Tips

It sounds ideal, perhaps, but how can you also go on a path like this? Use the feminine ways of productivity for your life? Here are the top 3 tips that helped me to get started.

1. Spend time on your purpose in life

Well, I often get the question: How do I find my purpose?

Well, a good indicator is knowing what makes your heart sing. And doing that more often. Heart-singing activities are much more than just hobbies. I am really convinced that everybody can use his or her talents to create something worthwhile in this world.

Keywords: create and worthwhile.

We spend way too much time just being a consumer. Being a creator instead will bring you to your purpose. In the beginning, it can be a hobby. But the more you use your unique talents to add to that hobby, the more it will become a purpose.

Example: Gardening is your hobby. So you learn about nature, go on a permaculture course and maybe become a regenerative farmer.

Or like I do: volunteer on a regenerative farm and tell the stories. My heart sings when I’m connecting to nature and food. And storytelling is my life flow.

Example: music is your hobby. So you learn about the sounds of nature, 432 Hz, and how music vibrations can heal. Thus, you can combine your music with a purpose to heal life with sound.

You don’t have to make it into your job. But you can. I started out learning about my purpose next to my job. And then I gradually changed over.

2. Use your energy wisely

In order to achieve our purpose in life, we have one instrument: our body. On my journey, I learned how to channel my emotions through my body and heal my burdened past. I learned meditation to slow down and focus better.

And what remains now is a body instrument that’s working well. A clear brain with good focus. A purpose. And a strong sense of where I want to spend my energy. I don’t care about ROI, I care about EROI. Energy Return on Investment. To me, energy management is much more important than time management.

Time management is used in masculine productivity. Energy management is creating feminine productivity. It’s not linear. It’s not efficient. It’s effective.

Look at for instance songwriters. They have one moment of great inspiration, write a fabulous song, and make a huge impact with those 15 minutes. That’s my way. The feminine way.

3. Learn, learn, learn

As I say, the way to feminine productivity started for me with the realization that it even existed. Then I went on a journey to get it to work for me.

Learning in this case is different from what we did at school. It’s not just rational. I learned the most from the things I did not understand.

I’m a rational girl. But unleashing the power of my heart and feeling the power of nature did much more for my transformation than rationality could have ever achieved.

Who are my main teachers?

• The Blue Economy — about laws of nature, design for life, and technology. And how to transform the business world with them
• Schumacher College and Shamanism— about how to connect to the stories that need to be told for the transition. And also about the power of nature, community, and diversity
• Core Energetics — learning how to use my body as my instrument
• Zen, TAO, and Quantum Light Breath
• Gaia. Mother Nature. My most influential teacher of all. She fills my dreams, she guides my way and she whispers in my ear to find my stories

Everybody has her own unique path. Go out in the woods, as Clarissa Pinkola Estes said. It’s time to rewild our souls and for all of us to find our own flavor of feminine productivity.

If you want to connect, you can find me via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and my website.

© Désirée Driesenaar