What to do when you feel the need to be productive?

As high functioning, ambitious adults do you have a need to feel productive? Our generation values productivity so much – we listen to podcasts on how to be more productive, we set goals and read books on improving our productivity, and so on.

As managers, we set metrics to measure productivity so we can improve it. We are incentivized to improve productivity and do things faster. But what is productivity?

Productivity is a term used in industrial operations defined as the rate of output per unit input. It’s an output focused term. Improving productivity suggests that we improve our output, but the truth is we are not really machines to continuously keep producing.

Have you noticed that you expect yourself to be productive most if not all of the time?

Maybe you feel you need to constantly improve yourself? Read self help books, listen to podcasts, workout.
Maybe you feel you need to engage in some improvement activity – house projects, learn something new?
Maybe you feel you need to schedule something in your calendar for the next week, next month or even next quarter to feel like you accomplished something.

Notice what you do when you have nothing to do, does your mind feel the need to do something ‘productive’? To be clear, I am not advocating the opposite end of the spectrum – to sit on the couch and numb ourselves in front of a screen. And why does doing NOTHING feel so hard? Does it make you feel lazy, or not ambitious enough? Here are some things to try when you don’t have anything to do (which I understand might be a rare occurrence!). Feel free to add more to the list, but focus on NOT engaging your brain, and leading with your body & senses.