Undoing
Summoning All Fellow Perfectionists and Productionists. (and the Bjork song that makes me cry. It's music medicine.)
Are you pushing, striving, driving, and trying? I am.
It’s part of my DNA. My father like a shark, could not stop moving. His mottos, “There aren’t enough hours in the day” - - and his daily Robert Frost quotes “I have miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep” echo in the chambers of my heart. His laments seeped into my cells and waited for me.
I carry this need to be productive like an addiction. Yes, even as a yoga teacher. I’ve been pushing my “career” forward like a boulder up the hill for 30 years now. I do what I love and it consumes me. Even more so as I write.
My inner critic characterizes me as an over-thinker and under-achiever. (I know! She’s mean.) On the good days, I show her what I can do. On the bad days, I spiral.
It’s a vulnerable reckoning, to know myself, see myself, and call myself out. I have to send for the menders and tenders of self; peace, grace, forgiveness, and compassion. They show up in my yoga practice, in nature, and when the truth surfaces on my fingertips and spills out onto the screen.
This is a summoning of all of you fellow perfectionists and productionists.
It’s time to plan our undoing…
I’m sharing highlights from a deep dive on the cycle of creativity, productivity and burn out.
We have evolved into a society over-ripe on productivity. Just as much as any other addiction, some people get addicted to productivity. We get that little dopamine hit with everything we check off the to-do list. However, there is danger in this never-ending cycle.
You might be a productivity addict if you …
Constantly worry about wasting time.
Beat yourself up for not crossing enough off your “to-do” list.
Like telling others about how busy you are.
Limit socializing, because of not wanting to get behind in your work.
Are unable to find joy in anything other than work.
Go into a shame spiral with every lapse in productivity.
Think slowing down to live in the moment is a luxury.
Make excuses to your loved ones that you just need to do… one more thing.
Look for one more task to accomplish in unexpected free time, rather than resting or doing something fun.
Always focus on the future.
There will always be a new deadline to set and more things to do. As we give greater priority to items on our to-do list rather than tending to our own real human needs, there is friction in our work life balance. The imbalance takes us from friction to fire, from fire to burn out.
Break the habit. Your Worth Is Not Defined by Your Productivity.
Refresh routines and give your life some breathing room. Put purpose over productivity and creation over production - then success isn’t a matter of the quantity of hours spent on any task, it is the quality of the time spent in the direction of a greater purpose.
Schedule downtime and stick to it.
When you meet someone ask first, what they like to do rather than how they earn a living. Place importance, value, and interest beyond work.
Affirm to yourself daily that what you’re doing is enough.
Stop taking on things that you don’t have interest in or the energy for, just to stay busy.
Take breaks to release the pressure. Weave self-care throughout your day. Always take a movement break and take time to eat a meal away from your work.
Stop multi-tasking.
Be willing to see that the success of your end goal may not be moving in from point A to Point B, but instead opening to a greater opportunity that shows up along the way.
Chill out on the need to compete.
There is nothing wrong with being productive. But are you being swallowed alive by this incessant drive? Sometimes no amount of forcing, controlling, or working will give us the outcome that we expect.
The goals we set in play a few months or weeks ago are more apt to blossom with creativity. Be acutely aware of when you’re basing self-worth on your level of productivity and criticizing yourself for not getting enough done.
Be compassionate in your relationship to time passing. Time is a currency of more value than the dollar, spend it wisely. Remember you are inherently worth so much more than what you do. Simply said, you ARE enough.
To keep reading …
Creation over production. Creativity is sometimes elusive. It requires a little spaciousness. We are more open to receive than when restrained and restricted. Ideas begin to percolate and the mind begins to move in unexpected ways.
Purpose over Productivity. The key here is to root your productivity in your purpose. When we make a connection between what we are doing and who we truly are, we can spend our precious time in the alignment of our dharma… to live in accordance with your own mission and meaning.
Because I love music medicine, I’ll leave you with my favorite song to play in Savasana. One day I am going to teach an all bjork yoga class (bjoga) and you’re all invited.
Bjork, Undo
It's not meant to be a struggle uphill
Undo
Undo
If you're bleeding
Undo
And if you're sweating
Undo
If you're crying, darling
Undo
Undo