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A couple of months ago I fell into the rabbit hole of productivity. I was listening to motivating podcasts and was actually getting more productive up to a certain point where I started getting burnt out and was experiencing a horrible surge of IBD symptoms.
Every time I gave myself some form of rest I'd feel guilty and be invaded by the voices of boss ladies telling me to get out of bed and do something. Though I'd end up getting up everytime, I was forcing myself to do work I didn't want to do and a result, I became a more irritated and tired person. Unbeknownst to me, I was becoming bed-ridden due to my autoimmune disease and was forcing myself to work through it.
Outcome: My body crashed on me as soon as I finished the term and I didn't get the result I wanted (I got a good GPA overall, but my CGPA is still at a C+ with no chance of raising it again)
This term started and I only have 1 subject and my thesis left and I decided to give my body the chance to rest and detach myself from outcomes since nothing I can do will raise my CGPA to a B.
Outcome: I ended up highly fatigued and can barely get up and do anything. Don't get me wrong, I am doing well in that class I'm in and I got a good chunk of my thesis done, but nonetheless I was exhausted.
I was bedrotting for weeks under the guise of letting go of control and letting the world take me where it wants me to take. At the end I became empty with no energy to do things I actually want to do.
This got me wondering: To what extent should we be productive and when do we give ourselves rest? How do we become productive without burning our bodies out? How do we give ourselves rest without slipping into bed-rotting? How do we get up and become productive after weeks of slump without forcing our bodies to do things it doesn't want? How do we convince a productivity junkie that they need rest and actually enjoy the rest?
How does one get out of this cycle?
Mar 7, 2025
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i think you must be very disciplined in listening to your body. as soon as you rest when you feel like it, even if it feels too much resting for you, you will begin to listen exactly what your body is telling you. just follow blindly what your body comands. maybe youll spend a week in bed because you needed to. we are animals programmed to survive
Mar 7, 2025
@GIGII Thank you so much! I've had a hard time allowing my body to exist without imposing control on it for a while now and I was met with this intense lethargy when I finally gave it total control. I think when you've been programmed to constantly work for a long period of time your body will crash on you when you give it a safe space to do so, which i think is what's happening with me...
Mar 10, 2025
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♥️i encourage you to examine that feeling, where you heard that message, and if you apply that standard to others. when my mental illness got to a point where i was less productive at work, it forced me to unpack my internalized ableism and belief that productivity = worth. i still struggle in my relationship with rest and work, but quitting my job at the time was the single best decision i have ever made for my mental health.
i would have given anything to quit while having the financial support you have. it will probably be hard to not have a schedule and to learn how to rest again and to process the feeling of being a burden in a relationship… but it’ll give your body a chance to heal and your mind to reset and your heart to receive support from others. it’s difficult to extract ourselves from hustle culture.
recommended reading: Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
i would have given anything to quit while having the financial support you have. it will probably be hard to not have a schedule and to learn how to rest again and to process the feeling of being a burden in a relationship… but it’ll give your body a chance to heal and your mind to reset and your heart to receive support from others. it’s difficult to extract ourselves from hustle culture.
recommended reading: Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
Jun 26, 2024
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🫂Recently I have been hyper focused on managing my life, pushing to follow what I love, and try to provide for myself more. But with that I have also had strange mood spikes and been stressing far more. My brain is constantly go, go, going. So somedays my body just can’t go. I get moody and I feel exhausted. And it’s in these moments I have to treat my body as if I were caring for a toddler. I nap, I eat, I play, I try to hit all the basics. These breaks make me feel anxious, like I have no time. But, learning to know when my body and mind need a break makes me feel in tune with myself, pushing me to focus on my heath over my productivity.
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⚡I put my phone in another room. I agree with aidanaguirre about using the Pomodoro technique; that was instrumental to me in developing my sense of work ethic and discipline. A major part of productivity is just removing temptations and distractions so that it's not even an option to do anything but work.
I use kanban style project management software to plan out projects. You could obviously just use calendars or a planner but for longer term projects i find this to be really helpful. in the past i would break these projects up into small chunks of progress and reward myself throughout the day with a little treat every time I completed a chunk... so I would say the carrot stick method of conditioning yourself to associate progress with a reward helps.
If your work is more task based I would recommend making to-do lists; sometimes I’ve also created schedules for the completion of to-do lists and rigidly adhered to them. Setting goals helps too!
At my most productive times I would diffuse a scent that I would only use while working and play ASMR ambience or field recordings associated with that scent (forest essential oil blend and forest sounds for example) to create kind of a relaxing sensory experience where the connection to productivity would grow stronger every time I was successful with it… advanced productivity hack.
Controversial but intermittent fasting helps my mind stay clear and focused in my sedentary work…
Going into nature on a regular basis helps me, spending time with my pets, eating good food, and also making sure to fully decompress at the end of the day with yin yoga and a hot bath.
I use kanban style project management software to plan out projects. You could obviously just use calendars or a planner but for longer term projects i find this to be really helpful. in the past i would break these projects up into small chunks of progress and reward myself throughout the day with a little treat every time I completed a chunk... so I would say the carrot stick method of conditioning yourself to associate progress with a reward helps.
If your work is more task based I would recommend making to-do lists; sometimes I’ve also created schedules for the completion of to-do lists and rigidly adhered to them. Setting goals helps too!
At my most productive times I would diffuse a scent that I would only use while working and play ASMR ambience or field recordings associated with that scent (forest essential oil blend and forest sounds for example) to create kind of a relaxing sensory experience where the connection to productivity would grow stronger every time I was successful with it… advanced productivity hack.
Controversial but intermittent fasting helps my mind stay clear and focused in my sedentary work…
Going into nature on a regular basis helps me, spending time with my pets, eating good food, and also making sure to fully decompress at the end of the day with yin yoga and a hot bath.
May 23, 2024
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