What is Productivity Bias?

It’s bullshit.?

Oh. That’s not what you were expecting??

Productivity bias is the cultural phenomenon whereby we believe it’s morally superior to be productive than to not be productive.?

And that’s bullshit.

It’s based in the puritanical idea that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” But what it leads to is the perpetual thoughts that you’re “falling behind,” that you’re not “doing enough,” and that there’s always “too much to do.”?

This creates shame cycles, which eventually leads to throwing your hands up and doing nothing, giving your dino mind more reason to shame you, which then fuels all kinds of shielding activities, providing even more ammunition for your dino shame thrower.

It’s a mess.

And it’s all bullshit.

Being productive is not morally superior to not being productive. And if you’re cringing in disbelief at that statement, ask yourself why.

Why would productivity be morally superior to non-productivity? And what are the metrics for measuring that?

How do you define what productivity even is? What counts as being productive??

Is rest ever productive??

Who gets to decide what level of productivity is enough??

And are those metrics applicable to everyone at all times?

Everyone.

At all times.

That’s the key.

If the definition cannot be applied to everyone at all times, it’s not objective. That makes it subjective. Which makes it optional. And really, it’s total bullshit.

We think that if we stop shaming ourselves for not “doing enough,” we’ll “never get anything done,” but that’s simply not true.

Consider a time when you felt really good about what you were doing. When you were in the zone, or flow, or whatever you call it.

How did that feel?

Did it feel shameful??

OF COURSE IT DIDN’T! Because shame doesn’t fuel that kind of action!

Shame leads us to shield ourselves from whatever we think is causing our shame (which, spoiler alert, is always our thoughts...but our dino minds think it’s outside of ourselves.)?

So we end up scrolling social media, rage cleaning, binging Netflix, and doing all sorts of other things aside from the thing we’re shaming ourselves for not doing...which, guess what, is still NOT DOING THE DAMN THING!

It creates a vicious cycle.

But what if we were kinder and more compassionate to ourselves, instead of mentally beating ourselves up??

“But I can’t let myself off the hook!”

Letting yourself off the hook is more bullshit.

Show yourself some compassion for being human. Allow yourself to take action from that place.?

You’ll end up getting far more done, and you’ll feel a hell of a lot better while doing it.

But what you’ll get done won’t only be “productive” tasks. It’ll also be pleasurable things. And it’ll be weird at first. You won’t know what to do with yourself part of the time.?

Then, it’ll become more fun.

And it all starts by questioning the thought that it is morally superior to be productive than it is to not be productive.