Quit Preaching Productivity: Humans Weren’t Meant to be Productive
A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long
Since when did we turn into productivity monsters?
Was it Covey’s fault with his four quadrants? Is that why we need to put things into buckets, giving everything a title, a label, and a metatag?
Today we are on a constant quest to seek flow and develop atomic habits. We are Pareto-Principal disciples, forever pushing ourselves into an impossibly obtained 4-hour workweek. We eat our prescribed frogs, put on our blinders, and attach ourselves to the deep work.
You’ll 80–20 yourself to death
I’ve been guilty of clicking into these thirst traps:
- “20 Tips to Get More Done in 2020”
- “7 Things You Can Do Now to be More Productive”
- “5 Questions to Ask Yourself To Manage Your Time”
- “To be Effective, Stop This 1 Thing”
I feed off this stuff. It’s like candy.
Do you know what candy does? Over time, it kills you. Sure, licking that lollipop may taste good now, and you’ll get a bit of a buzz, but eventually, your buzz will be squashed like that dead fly on my windowsill. (Yeah, yeah, I need to clean that up, but first, I need to type this.)
The 80/20 math doesn’t add up. Sure, it sounds good, but in practice, it’s a negative-sum game. Allow me to illustrate.
First, you give 20% to a good cause, like working out.
Then, you give another 20% to a good cause, like writing.
Then, another 20% to your “side hustle.”
Eventually, you’ll have several 20-percents sitting on the fiery stove of your life. The math looks like this:
20+20+20+20+20+20+20+20+80=you’re dead
You still need to have that 80% for everyday life, such as sleeping, eating, taking a dump, and sex (solo or with a partner or two, I don’t judge).
Give us that old-time gospel
We don’t need some new-fangled productivity religion. We require that old-time, soul-saving gospel message that redeems our overworked, overstressed, and overburdened soul.
Bring us that sweet, sweet nectar from the 6th century BC. We want the OG Lao Tzu and his Tao Te Ching.
Let’s pause here with a brief message from our sponsors, the Tao Te Ching. Here are three fun facts about the Tao:
- Eckhart Tolle calls the Tao “one of the most profound spiritual books ever written.”
- Michael Chrichton said if he were stranded on an island and had to choose one book for the rest of his life, it would be the Tao.
- Bing said the Tao was first published in 1969. (Hey, I like the free reward points they give me. I know they suck.)
Back to our previously scheduled program.
600 BC shows the first records of what we now call a “social media influencer.” This quiet dude in the library was gaining mad attention for the wisdom he would often drop.
“Yo, Lao, give us some of that righteous wisdom, dog,” the fans would say.
“Like, subscribe, and follow, and buy some merch,” Lao Tzu would retort.
Actually, no.
He was tired of the platitudes. He wrote the Tao, hopped on his dinosaur Uber, and said: “peace, out”.
For real (minus the dinosaur).
He dropped his knowledge, handed it to a guard at the gate, and walked out of town. Boom. Mic drop.
Is it getting dark in here?
Lao Tzu, in his eternal book of wisdom, said this:
“A candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long.”
What do you say now, Covey? Clear? Ferriss? Anyone?
Yeah, you burn bright, and you burn out. Look at the productivity masters whom we idolize. They hit a wall in health, relationships, money, etc.
James Altucher writes about his experiences in Choose Yourself. He talks about having it all, and then losing it all. Having it all again. And losing it all it.
Altucher was on the precipice of death, literally and figuratively.
We think that he is one of the greatest productivity gurus in the world, yet he says the #1 search phrase that leads to his blog is “I want to kill myself.”
You can’t be productive if you’re dead.
James doesn’t say to get everything done in as little time as possible.
Let’s repeat that, but in bold, bigger font:
James doesn’t say to get everything done in as little time as possible.
I was re-reading one of his books last night, where he talks about the often-quoted idea of writing down ten ideas. He says to make your brain sweat like a pig. It’s a great idea. But that’s where we stop quoting him.
He THEN said that he took a 30-minute nap, after having slept 10 hours the night before. He said sleep is fun. I agree. Sleep IS fun!
Sleep is enemy #1
I swear, in reading productivity articles, I’m starting to believe that people think sleep is the next Hitler.
Gordon Ramsay talks about staying up until past midnight, and then waking up at 3 a.m. to run his own marathon. Yeah, that guy is the epitome of serenity and Zen, right?
We’re slowly starting to allow the concept of six, but no more than eight hours of sleep. It is even becoming chic, and it’s a checkbox to cross off in our daily planner. Anyone grabbing nine hours is anathema. Or, if you take a nap, you’re labeled the corporate antichrist.
I love this paradox: the more you sleep, the more you get done.
You’re more effective when you are well-rested. You don’t waste time trying to wake yourself up and attempting to see through the fog. You make fewer mistakes. You are more creative.
A little self-compassion goes a long way
Everything comes down to self-compassion. The more we read about productivity, the more we judge ourselves for not getting stuff done.
If we love ourselves and trust ourselves, the things that need to get done will get done. We’ll end up where we need to be.
But don’t take my word for it. Here are a few more quotes by Lao Tzu:
“The Way is ever without action, yet nothing is left undone.”
“The highest virtue does nothing. Yet, nothing needs to be done. The lowest virtue does everything. Yet, much remains to be done.”
“When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.”
“Act without action.”
It’s certainly no sin to want to be successful or accomplish something in life. But don’t do it at the expense of your self-love. Choose yourself first, and the rest will follow.
I like to write stuff people read; I like to read what people write. Connect with me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LifeisPresence.
