Sentiments On Productivity

A year into this pandemic–here we are. I was chatting with a friend recently and the topic of working from home came up. We chatted very candidly about the concept of burnout, fatigue, and the overall mundane element of working from home. It got me thinking–while I’m not necessarily an expert at working from home–I do really enjoy it. The comfort and convenience suit me and my creative flow of energy. However, I realized that not everyone feels the same. So many folks have mixed feelings about it–and are starting to notice negative effects on their daily routines. I myself have started to question my own productivity and what “being productive” means today.

Firstly…

I think it’s worth noting that the place we’re in right now isn’t an easy one. While 2020 is behind us, 2021 isn’t quite the shiniest penny. Many elements of life are still uncertain which makes feeling solid and stable all that much more difficult.

While I’m thankful–I’m still feeling uneasy and lack of a better word, weathered. Emotionally, physically, creatively, personally, and professionally. That doesn’t make evaluating our current circumstance super easy–but I find some of the most enlightened thoughts are born during times of strife.

With that all in mind, I’d like to just jot down a few things that I adore (and a few I wish were better) about working from home at this point. I hope that maybe you come away from this feeling a bit better about your current WFH situation–or even just heard in the slightest way.

The Metamorphosis Of What It Means To Be Productive

It can’t be denied that our lives have taken on more during this pandemic. More to-do’s, more mental weight, more strain, the pressure to be more creative with less, the list goes on. However, what I find really refreshing is that we’re simultaneously going through a metamorphosis in terms of what it means to be productive. Pre-pandemic, we were running from event to event, going to workout classes, working at an office from 9-5 ( I mean, when I think of everything I used to pack into a single day pre-pandemic I literally get dizzy now), and judging our productivity based on checking off those boxes. As soon as the pandemic hit–the playing field was leveled. We were all asked to strip away the gloss, shine, and fluff of the day-to-day. What was left? The essential must-do’s. Our jobs, caretaking, chores, and taking care of ourselves. While it was super polarizing at first and incredibly hard to adjust to–we managed. We figured out how to do the things we absolutely needed to in order to get by.

And here we are now–a year into the pandemic, and some of us are slowly starting to realize that all that fluff and gloss maybe isn’t necessary to “be productive”. Maybe we don’t need the flash of a sexy office in order to get our jobs done. Maybe we don’t need to travel halfway across town every day to get “face time” for a meeting. So while our lives are taking on more we’re also stripping away the bullshit. The wind is swirling around the idea of the 9-5 office culture workday is a thing of the past.

The burning toxic question that we’re all asking? So what are we doing with all that extra time then? Well, Karen–we’re living. We’re doing things that you don’t actually need to track on a gantt chart. And (here’s a controversial one) the things we’re doing now may actually be better for us as humans. For me personally, I’m swapping sitting in a crowded bus for an hour each morning with going for a brisk walk around my neighborhood. Instead of performatively sitting at my desk banging my head against a creative-rut-wall, I’m taking small breaks (omg yes breaks!!) during the day to give my brain some mental stimulation. Instead of commuting for a few hours each day, maybe you’re learning how to garden or just being. As a society–we’re beginning to normalize the concept of simply being. Being can mean just sitting and listening to your uninhibited inner thoughts, or taking a walk simply just to touch foot to earth.

The time is rife to stand up and say, I won’t be doing that anymore. I won’t be buying into the performative productivity culture. Instead, I’m trying to rebuild my concept of what productivity means to me and my inner circle of things that matter most to me.

What I’m Doing (And Not Doing)

I love working from home. I love the freedom and convenience that comes with working out of your home office. It suits my creative flow of energy and I don’t want to mess with it. I’ve realized that this is how I work best, and I’ll continue to advocate for myself in order to do so.

I no longer believe that you need to travel somewhere in order to feel accomplished.

Similarly, I will no longer buy into the concept of “office culture”. At the end of the day–it’s a dated idea. Why not hire talent from more diverse areas? I will no longer buy into the idea that you must move somewhere in order to work there (in my field).

I’m making to-do lists in a whole new way. I’m structuring them around the things I personally need to do, tracking my day-to-day feelings while doing those things, and layering in structured tasks that I know are high-priority at work. I’m no longer running around like a stressed chicken trying to get every little thing done. I’m honoring when I feel creative and when I don’t. There will be days where I’ll style or curate all day long–and others that I allocate towards tasks that are less labor-intensive or.

I’m making my health priority numero uno (above work, above social, even above family (eek!!)). I carve an hour out of my workday each week to go to my chiropractor. Yup–out of my workday–in case anyone in the back didn’t hear.

I’m focused on cultivating a work environment with people who support the same vision I do. That vision is life over work always. I will never live to work–and I want people around me who support the idea that you don’t need to prove yourself in a spreadsheet in order to feel like an honorable human.

My focus will always be inward–my home, my family, my inner circle first. These past few years, I’ve learned that I’m home-focused by nature–I prefer staying in as opposed to going out. I prefer small gatherings versus large parties. On any day I’ll opt for investing in my home versus taking a lavish vacation or going to an expensive concert/show.

I’ll no longer say yes to social events to please other people.

I’ll never enable toxic positivity in the workplace again. The idea of toxic positivity stems from the need to prioritize someone else’s comfort over your own reality and I didn’t realize what an enabler of this concept I was pre-pandemic.