The God of Productivity

What sacrifices have you made to the god of productivity?

Since most of us are now being forced to work from our homes, there’s a lot of content out there about “productivity.” Which means, I guess, “work completed.” You can find content about how to get more done with the kids at home, with you being home, with the pets wanting more of your attention, and even how to barbecue during a Zoom meeting while juggling a baby and stainless-steel knife. Okay, I made that last one up, but the collective shock to our economy has us willing to sacrifice our children, homes, pets and sanity to the god of productivity.

Here’s what you need to know: the god of productivity is one of those trickster gods who make you think you are accomplishing something, only to have that rock roll back down the hill, forcing you to then have to re-navigate the obstacle course of your home life to get the rock back up, and then, you know the drill. The god of productivity wants you to feel like a failure so you sacrifice more to it.

It’s time to stop worshiping the god of productivity and release yourself from the tether of the 9-5. Granted there are so many professions where you can’t do that, where shifts make sense: retail, medical facilities, factories, public services such as police officers and firefighters, and teachers, etc. I’m sure I’m leaving someone out. But these are the helper jobs – the ones we try to unreasonably quantify for the god of productivity through classroom test scores, number of arrests, numbers of mortalities, widgets made, numbers of people churned through the checkout.

But there are quite a few of us who don’t need to drive to a place to get to work. I’ve been working from a home office for years. I get more done when I spend time away from the computer and the distractions of social media. I’m even more productive when I take a shower…and not because there’s a market for videos of me showering, but because that’s where I might generate an idea.

And your kids don’t need to make sacrifices to the god of productivity either. Allow them time to play, create, draw, imagine. The schoolwork is there, it will always be there. There will be more to learn, and they will do that. Your kids will be okay. You will be okay.

…and the god of productivity will wait to be fed once more.