Productivity Tuesday: Being Unproductive Can Be a Productivity Tool

I want to start off by saying I apologize if the blog title is sending mixed messages from me to you. Let me just assure you right now that I’m of sound mind and know exactly what I want to convey to you in this title and throughout this blog post. I also want you to know that I’m holding fast to the idea that productivity measures are essential components to GETTING THINGS DONE in one’s life.

That’s my story (and I’m firmly sticking to it).

Nevertheless, this past week wasn’t one in which I got a whole lot accomplished business-wise. Reason being: I just needed a break or two or a bunch. This isn’t the first time I’ve spontaneously taken a time out. Check out the post, entitled I Gave Myself the Day Off, for some additional context. And last week won’t be the last time that I feel this way. I can 100 percent guarantee that right now.

Time outs for grown-ups are needed every once in a while, don’t you think?

Well, I personally think they’re necessary. And while I feel this way, I also feel somewhat guilty when I break away from “the grind” — like I’m not as driven, devoted, and hard-working as I should be in what I do at Degrees of Maternity. Taking a break gives me a sense of letting someone down. But, I haven’t quite figured out who that someone is?

I don’t think that someone is you, because you’ve never made me feel that a little break on my end is shattering your world. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that you’re busy living your life and have your own breaks that you’re in desperate need of. So, why would you want to rain on my parade when you have your own celebration going on?

And if I’m somehow letting myself down, then that admission would be very confusing indeed, because I’m the one telling myself that I need a break. So, why the guilt?

Have we been programmed as a society to GO! GO! GO! all of the time, except when we sleep? And even then, our REM cycles kick in and we’re subconsciously working in our sleep. Or, maybe you’re not plagued with this condition of “taking a break while feeling guilty about it”. If you’re one of those special cases, please let me know how you’ve managed to go through a period of unproductive time without feeling like you’ve wasted it. I’d really like to know.

Now, I’m guessing here. But, are you able to handle unproductive states of being because you actually consider them as productive in all actuality?

I mean, seriously, I’ve been mulling this very idea around in my head. And I’m leaning more toward the notion that you have to temporarily function in unproductive states in order to maintain high and long-lasting levels of productivity. Breaks are mandatory, in my opinion.

And when I actually take time to put reality into perspective, I can’t think of a day that’s gone by where I haven’t had something to do. And even when I thought I was on an all-out vacation or having “me time all the time”, there were always tasks or responsibilities that still had to be accomplished within that day. So, I’ve continuously operated in a mode, where I could switch out of break to work status to get things done, when necessary.

I essentially get my breaks in intermittent chunks (bits and pieces here and there) and these breaks are spread out over time. For example, I took time away from business responsibilities throughout the weekdays (in resting blocks of time throughout each weekday) last week instead of having one full day where I did absolutely nothing.

So, I’ve decided to take on a mindset shift where I don’t think I should be too hard on myself for avoiding the grind from time to time. And I would caution you to also be forgiving of yourself, when partaking in a well-deserved R&R session. If it helps any, think of temporary periods of inactivity as activity in and of itself. In those moments, you are choosing to focus attention on your overall well-being (mental, physical, and spiritual). You have to give yourself moments of time to replenish your well — to renew, rejuvenate, and recalibrate.

Occasionally, you must restore order, or balance, to your life. And one way to do so is by making time to unwind and disconnect from the regular work week routine. It’s humanly impossible to be all work all the time and think you’ll be able to function productively. And I know this to be true, because I’m the type of individual who’s been repeatedly getting up early, going to bed late, and filling in the blanks everywhere in between in order to get some things accomplished.

But that type of approach to GETTING THINGS DONE doesn’t lead to a happier, healthier, and more productive YOU. Personally, if I didn’t make myself take a breather, I’d run myself into the ground, literally. And one thing I do know is that no one’s going to be productive from the grave.

Again, there’s something to this “being unproductive to be productive” thought process. And while this concept definitely has an important placement in one’s life, it needs to be used with care. This is why I keep referring to a temporary state of being to describe the extent to which one should “be unproductive to be productive.”

Being unproductive is not a state that you want to dwell in for a substantially long period of time. You want to have moments where you’re able to get into these states when needed. But, you also want to be able to easily climb back into an active mode when the timing dictates it. Just remember: the longer you stay in an unproductive state, the harder it is to get back into a productive one.

Tip of the Week: Officially schedule downtime within your day, so your breaks don’t pass you by. Make these temporary break periods a priority just like everything else on your schedule of to-dos for the day. Your momentary times of R&R can have a way of rekindling the productivity fire within before its flames fizzle out.