Do you find it difficult to switch off and do you like to always have something to do? You are probably a role model for many others. But: Do you still have an eye on yourself in all your activity?
First of all, one thing needs to be made clear: Compulsive productivity doesn’t have to be about work. There are often other things that we just like to do and/or want to do and that give us the feeling that we are moving our lives forward. For example by learning a new language, a musical instrument or regular physical training. In addition to self-will, there is another reason for a very productive attitude: to improve or expand oneself or one’s own skills. They give us small (or sometimes larger) success stories. For example, when the first guitar solo hits the spot, we can have a conversation in the foreign language we’ve been cramming or the training pays off for us in a competition.
Another point can be that we want to be useful or meaningful. We may want others to see us as achievers or generally persistent in our goals. Or maybe that we ourselves are leaving something behind for future generations, such as our lives in book form. And of course, all of this is basically good. Because creating and learning a lot is viewed positively in our society. But every now and then we should still give the body the chance to shut down.
Two forms of individualism
In the 1990s, the sociologist Robert Bellah and his colleagues summarized human striving in two forms:
- The means to an end: People of this type usually have general goals in mind: They want to be healthy, make money or expand their knowledge – or all of them. To achieve this goal, they enjoy working, learning new things and mastering the challenges that await them along the way. At the same time, they are cosmopolitan and often demonstrate sophistication and creativity. They create new products or reinvent old ones and they let other people participate in these things. In addition, they often want to pass on their own achievements to the people after them, for the good of humanity or preferably their family.
- The beautiful in the obvious: People of this type appreciate the small moments in life – both sad and happy situations are important stages of life for them. He:she lives by experiencing other things. For example when meeting friends, creating memories and gaining new experiences. This aspiration fills these types of people.
While the first type goes through the world in a goal-oriented and disciplined manner, the second type is more of a free spirit who wants to live life to the fullest. Both are perfectly fine in their detached standalone variant. But combined, they can bring us even more benefits. Because even if we can show a lot of achievements for the world after us and are appreciated for it, it is of course nice to also include the social and joyful component in the here and now, in which we enjoy the beautiful moments with others.
To check whether you should take a break and spend more time with yourself or your friends, you can ask yourself the following questions:
Do you feel like you have to keep yourself constantly busy?
Sometimes it’s time to just do nothing or be incredibly unproductive – many people can appreciate that “uselessness” that others feel at such moments. For other people, however, it is difficult to leave everything behind. But it doesn’t have to be an entire hour. If this concerns you, you can also start small. For example, by preparing an iced coffee for the summer and sitting on the balcony, in the garden or in the living room with some music on your ears – and just practice relaxing.
Do you always wish to see results?
When you’re not working, you still want to set clear goals. For example, tasks that come your way at home: washing dishes, vacuuming, mowing the lawn or cleaning windows. For productive people, the things that have started must ideally come to an end, ideally the results are still visible like the washed plates. you have a day off Then use it for the nice things, go for breakfast, lunch or a few hours in the city or meet up with your loved ones. Your free time doesn’t have to consist solely of productivity.
What would you most like to have lasting success in what you do?
The previous activities are rather unsatisfactory: the dishes are getting dirty again, the floor is dusty, the grass is growing again. Instead, you might like things that get bigger and grow over time. For example, your musical talent with further practice hours, your language skills with learning vocabulary or very practically: your money by investing in funds or other capital investments. For these people, progress is a sign that life is moving forward – more (for these people also often in material terms) is better than “too little”. The feeling of standing still is terrible for them. But in this regard, it helps to consider what you have now—and what you might not have had five or ten years ago. Of course, some things come about through planning and diligence, but in other things your own stress may not be necessary at all.
Is the future more important to you than the present?
Do you live in the here and now or do you think about what could be? Productive people often think about their children’s well-being when they take action. They think about their own health, or when they might need to go to a nursing home. Uncontrollable things that they try to plan and be prepared for as best as possible. Here, too, it is of course nice to develop a certain basic understanding of such situations, but we do not have to figure everything out on our own. Talk to the people around you, what are they planning, where can they support and where are you possibly too hasty?
Does productivity permeate your identity and relationships?
In our society, having a good job, taking care of others, or having a good home are respected. Many of us therefore take it upon ourselves to live up to these standards and have the feeling that others are even counting on us in these matters. However, we must not neglect other responsibilities. For example, if you work too much, you shouldn’t neglect your friends. And if cleaning the house before the visit is stressful, you should perhaps consider whether everything really has to be immaculate or whether the minimum is enough. Often your own friends are not that demanding, it’s not about the house, it’s about the time together.
Be productive, but only when necessary
We should regularly remind ourselves of what we are actually striving for. What is the goal and what does it actually get us when we max out our productivity – and what things can we perhaps neglect for some time with ourselves or with other people? Some things may have some relevance, others less so. They are artificially created values that we are allowed to question. We may have been doing some things relatively unresistingly out of routine or decency for a long time. This can be a hurdle not only for ourselves, but also for our loved ones. So: If you find yourself in one of the questions, think about which things you are doing out of unnecessary compulsion and which things you really enjoy and are relevant. Maybe it just needs some restructuring to bring the productive time and the relaxation time back into balance.