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We all have friends who just can’t slow down. They’re always busy with too many things on their plate. Just watching them is exhausting. When being productive goes to extreme it’s called toxic productivity, and it’s a real problem for many. Toxic productive is the relentless pursuit of productivity at the cost of one’s personal well-being. It is an over the top focus on achieving unrealistic goals and outcome regardless of the personal cost involved. It usually means prioritizing everything over self and often other relationships. It’s productivity run amuck.
The Warning Signs
In the most extreme, toxic productivity is not sustainable. It can easily lead to burnout and the illnesses associated with chronic stress. People experiencing this often lose sight of quality as they focus on quantity when it comes to their work – regardless of what that work might be. They have a nearly impossible time disconnecting, and yet often rely on sheer willpower to “power through” certain tasks. Ignoring all their personal signs that something is wrong, they sometimes turn to numbing behaviors such as overeating, shopping, self-medicating, or escaping through entertainment or social media, just to name a few.
Not Success
Often unable to identify and address the underlying issues that lead to this situation, toxic productivity can easily become confused with success. Unfortunately, this confusion with success is often reinforced as our culture accepts and often applauds people who are able to withstand extreme stress and unable to set healthy boundaries.
Whitney Goodman, author of the book, Toxic Positivity, points out that having your entire self-worth tied to anything external, even something as positive as success, isn’t good. At first glance this might appear to be about achievement, but it goes way beyond that. Underlying factors leading to toxic productivity can include self-worth, confidence, and early family pressure to perform.
Taking Stock
To help someone in overdrive understand themselves, ask them if they’re energized by their work. When do they start to feel drained? For someone dealing with toxic positivity, taking a look at their own behavior is key.
Sometimes, however, individuals are put into this toxic situation as a result of work culture or management of the workplace. When that happens, the bigger picture needs to be addressed, one way or the other. Remember, we all have the right to disconnect.
Creating Change
As is the case with all change, it’s best to make small steps initially and go slow. Set boundaries that signal change but aren’t overwhelming themselves. If arriving at the office an hour early is part of the problem, don’t quit cold turkey. Instead, decide to arrive 15 minutes later than usual for the next week and then push the clock back from there. Use that 15 minutes to engage in some self-care instead. Maybe take time for a good breakfast, enjoy some time outside before heading to the office, or go crazy and go for a quick walk or do some stretching before getting ready for work. The possibilities are endless.
Healthy Balance
By consistently striving for a healthy work-life balance, we’ll all find ourselves enjoying both aspects of our lives more. Over time, place importance on continuing to cultivate supportive relationships with people who value and prioritize well-being and self-care.
The perfect person to help us all schedule regular “me time” and be our key relationship when it comes to our health is our 100 Year Lifestyle provider. Working towards our ideal 100 Year Lifestyle is the perfect way to create toxic productivity boundaries while setting the highest standards for our health and wellbeing.
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