Do you remember the last time you actually did “nothing” without making a mistake? You keep yourself busy all day because slow walking feels uncomfortable. If you deal with all these things then you may fall into the trap of high productivity…
But what is high productivity?
High productivity as a wound response is a coping mechanism that makes you almost overwork. You tend to stay busy or pursue higher goals to avoid the risk of past injuries, feelings of pain or powerlessness.
People around you appreciate the nature of your efforts and you feel worthy. They call it high ambition in you, but it may hide something bigger. Even if it looks interesting from the outside, high productivity or toxic productivity can be a quick way to escape the feeling that you do not want to sit down with certain emotions.
Hiding behind the veil of discipline and “possessions under control” Responding to high-impact conflicts is a means of avoidance. Here are eight signs to learn more about.
8 Signs That You Are Using Hyper Productivity as an Emotional Escape
1. You feel anxious, guilty or uncomfortable if you do not do something “useful”
Silence makes you feel restless. You feel anxious every time you feel that you are not productive, that is, when you do not do something useful.
You feel guilty and uncomfortable because the feeling you are trying to escape may feel like they are chasing you.
Being in “free time” feels wrong and it can lead to feelings of panic or irritability in yourself. You feel like you are wasting your time or falling behind even though there is nothing urgent right now.
2. Your self-worth is tied to your achievements.
Toxic productivity makes you equal to your value as a person with the amount of output you can give.
Whenever you have a low productivity day, you start to think of yourself as “useless”, “unworthy” and feel discouraged.
This ends with creating a cycle where you feel the need to do something to feel safe and stable.
But the human body is not a machine. Either it does not work or really feels safe and stable like that.
3. You take on extra work to feel calm
To avoid the risk of discomfort such as injury or stress High productivity Injury response is not in achieving that goal.
Instead, it becomes a way to get rid of basic emotions such as indifference, guilt, anxiety, loneliness and unworthiness.
Being busy becomes a way to control your anxiety or distract yourself from making difficult decisions. You tend to end up with small commitments and management because you continue to face fatigue.
Read more here: 6 Unclear types of injury responses (often unnoticed)
4. Pursuit of “task” dopamine
Completion has given you an earlier and normal kind of internal satisfaction. You only feel a temporary relief after finishing it.
But dopamine “performance” is what you started looking for. You are addicted to the feeling of checking this box.
However, high-productivity anxiety will return next time. Moreover, walking fast does not always give you the meaningful progress you want.
5. You plan your day over to avoid empty spaces
You plan your day excessively, ignoring your physical health, sleep, and well-being in order to continue working. You are wired but tired and always run with caffeine and adrenaline.
Free time does not make you feel relieved. On the other hand, quiet time brings a feeling that you do not want to meet.
Therefore, you try to keep your schedule full. You intentionally fill in the blanks where possible.
6. You have a hard time identifying what you are really feeling
Instead of sitting down with your emotions, your default mode will change into action. You want to fix, prepare or do more.
Even on days that are meant for your break, you feel a calm pressure that tells you you should work harder. But what is high productivity without it?
You always feel like being in motion without pausing long enough to feel complete or satisfied.
Read more here: 7 signs that you are emotionally lost and struggling to feel again.
7. You treat your personal life like a work project
Relationships for you have become operational and you are equally gentle with inefficiency.
Whether it’s just managing time for your society and hobbies, or even spending time with your loved ones, it starts to feel useless to you unless it seems productive.
8. You just let yourself rest after you are completely tired
Relaxation generally feels unworthy of you. You believe you can relax when you are completely tired.
Otherwise, take a break, make your mistake instead of relief.
You consider relaxation a luxury or a weakness rather than a necessity.
Key points to balance your high productivity.
- You should focus on high-impact work rather than just being busy.
- You need to plan your rest strategy using techniques like Pomodoro or 3-3-3 method with 3 hours of in-depth work, 3 maintenance work and 3 urgent tasks to keep focused while avoiding fatigue.
- Your critical scheduling allows you to schedule your most complex tasks during your peak energy hours, so you can save administrative tasks for your low-energy periods.
- Only try to “pull” new tasks from the “next” list when you have the ability to avoid multitasking to prevent overload
- Learn to prioritize taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally, so that you can maintain your energy levels effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to know if it is productive or highly productive?
With productivity, you focus on the tasks that can be most effective and then you feel satisfied with what you have achieved. But with high productivity, your focus shifts from quality to quantity, and you feel the need to maximize every minute of the day. You find it difficult to prioritize because every task feels urgent.
2. How to get rid of anxiety over productivity?
High productivity or toxic productivity is a vicious cycle that continues. Getting rid of it requires a change in your mindset. It has to constantly change from “do” to “become”. You need to stop associating your values with your work and create a boundary between work and rest. Rest is not a reward for work. In fact, it is a necessary component for better performance.
