When Productivity Gets Lost In Transition

Are you caught up in that side of the internet that promotes this hustle culture of relentless productivity and efficiency in our daily lives? From cramming as many tasks as possible in a day to squeezing in activities in between tasks, the pressure is palpable. However, amidst this pursuit of productivity, we might find that our self-worth is being bound up with how we are using our time. It’s as if the default experience has become experiencing as much as possible.

But what fuels this desire to constantly want to do more? Is it truly about fulfillment or filling our lives to the brim? I believe that it serves as a distraction to evade the present moment and to sidestep the crucial questions. Am I heading in the right direction? We somehow convince ourselves that we have time for everything and question less about whether any given activity that we are doing truly substantiates the position of our time.

However, the reality is that we don’t have enough time to do everything and we can only do things at a time. Time, regardless of how you want to measure it is finite and fleeting. It seems especially more so once you start to quantify them in minutes, hours, or days. We attempt to exhaust every minute of our day in pursuit of productivity by having a comprehensive plan and when we do find ourselves falling short, we get this immense feeling of inadequacy. It’s almost as if being productive nowadays is synonymous with being able to get past as many things as possible by the end of the day. It’s become a cycle of crossing out a task from your “to-do” list and then moving on to the next. It distracts from being truly present in the moment as we see our present as something that we want to get by. We cultivate an outcome-driven mindset where we are constantly striving towards something better that we are not allowed to be satisfied with now.

Time is us. Time is very much defined by our existence and our finitude. The fear that stems from the regret of past decisions and the uncertainty of the future may be why we distract ourselves by either relentlessly working long hours or through mindless scrolling. The truth is that our past and future are something that is not in our control and so, we should instead aspire to confine our attention only to the portion of time that is presented to us at the moment, the present. We make a decision, move toward the consequences of our actions, and then decide what would be the next necessary step to take. By accepting the limitations and detaching ourselves from the outcome, we alleviate much of this dilemma.

I think we can mostly agree that life stripped of its challenges and uncertainties would be mundane and devoid of meaning. The excitement and the adrenaline truly come from the tension, the challenges, the moments of bravery, and maybe sometimes, spontaneity if you may that life brings. Embracing the process with intent and accepting the limited control you have over the outcome liberates us from the shackles of productivity obsession.

There is no one-size-fits-all productivity regime on the internet that will guarantee you the results you desire. I think the rigidity of these plans that we see on the internet should be approached with some skepticism because the reality is, everyone’s life is just so different. Every decision that you make should be deliberate and purposeful with the direction that you are heading, guided by your intuition and your values. The uncontrollability of the future shouldn’t negate the significance of planning of course. As we learn to accept the limitations of the human agency, we learn to not fixate too much on the outcome and be accepting of changes. Instead, we learn to give the present moment the reverence that it deserves and embrace whatever comes our way with humility.

While time is indeed precious, time also finds value in the moments we share them. Allow us for some time to be in this beautiful shared human experience of meaningful exchanges and memories forged. As we navigate through transitions, may we also get intertwined with beautiful connections and unexpected encounters that might just redirect us to answers we didn’t know we have been seeking.