Navigating the Pandemic Productivity Myth During Your Time-off This Holiday Season

For many of us, we are smack dab in the middle of that strange time each year between Christmas and New Years’ – otherwise known as “The Holiday Week When No One Knows What Day It Is”.

I also fully recognize that many of us are not as fortunate when it comes to having time off of work, especially those of us who are currently out of a job or those who are still fighting on the frontlines against the growing COVID cases.

What a year.

Lately, I have found myself in several conversations – conversations with my clients, with my friends, with myself – about productivity and how to “make the most of this time off” right now. (Because nothing says, “It’s the holiday season!” quite like deep cleaning the kitchen fridge or spending the whole afternoon at your car’s overdue maintenance appointment.)

These conversations remind me of the messages we have received at various times throughout this dumpster fire of a year. Messages to “make the most” of all the so-called “extra time” many of us have been spending at home (or at least away from our typical routines). The main message being that We Need To Be Doing Things:

“It doesn’t matter if your entire life shifted overnight, now is the time to bake bread from scratch!”

“Who cares if you have no idea when you will see your family again – buy a Peloton!”

“Now that you don’t have a job anymore, it’s the perfect time to: learn a new language, learn how to play an instrument, research a bunch of vacations you hope to *maybe* take one day, or [insert hobby here].”

“Don’t forget to plan a bunch of socially-distant activities to help you cope with all the existential dread!”

Despite all of the pandemic stress, Covid anxiety, social justice issues, election anxiety, and the overall mental health toll the coronavirus has taken on us this year, we have still collectively felt a strong amount of pressure this year to produce, as if producing and doing things is what we are supposed to do no matter what. As if producing (aka productivity) is all we are meant to do or all that we are good for.

Now don’t get me wrong – I absolutely see the value in participating in activities that enhance our well-being and give us a sense of purpose. AND, we also live in a culture that glorifies busy-ness. We have learned to associate a packed schedule and a never-ending to-do list with a certain status. Many of us associate our productivity and achievements with our self-worth, as well-evidenced by the pandemic productivity myth in the first place and the pressure we feel to always be Doing Things and to think and talk about The Things We Are Doing. And these subtle messages and beliefs about “doing” things creep into our conversations more than we realize, even in simple questions that we ask each other all the time:

“How are you doing?”

The actual word “doing” implies an action. It implies that we must be doing something or performing in some way for it to be notable. Doing implies something out there – something outside of myself. Now, “being” on the other hand, relates to the essence of existing. It connects us to our very nature as human beings in the purest form.

That being said, I challenge you to re-direct this question inward today, and instead ask yourself:

“How am I being?”

Seriously, ask yourself this. Lean into this question and see what you notice. You may want to spend a few minutes in silence here. Make yourself comfortable. Breathe. Stretch if that feels good. You can also consider asking yourself the following:

“How am I being today?”

“How am I being with myself today?”

“How am I being in my spaces today?”

“How am I being in the world today?”

There is no right or wrong way to experience this. I know that for a lot of us, it can feel threatening or scary to slow down and to give ourselves permission to look inward. It might feel awkward. Perhaps it feels a bit cringe-y. You might feel emotional. It might feel wrong or like you are breaking some sort of rule. You might want to run away from it and if so – remind yourself that you are not alone in feeling that.

Remember that even during a global pandemic event, many of us have still struggled with giving ourselves permission to slow down. And why is that? Why is it so difficult? Because so many of us have received the message that we are not supposed to slow down. Not even during the holiday season, when we are meant to be relaxing and recharging. But the truth is, feeling constantly pressured to be productive and to do things can really interfere with our ability to be present in our lives right now, which definitely interferes with our ability to actually enjoy our lives. Slowing down actually allows us to experience more of the good stuff, and I don’t know about you, but after this year especially, I know I can use some more of the good stuff.

If you can relate, I now invite you to pay close attention to this quick and very basic biology lesson:

Did you know that the natural rhythms of our body and our nervous system are actually designed to have periods of time when we are “on” and periods of time when we are “off”?

When we are “on”, we are often on the go and on the move. Our adrenaline is pumping, we are more alert, and we are ready to tackle things.

And when we are “off”, we are meant to be relaxing. Our “rest and digest” response kicks-in. These functions are designed to slow us down and help us conserve energy.

So, biologically speaking, we are in fact SUPPOSED to slow down. To take time off. To rest and recharge. To turn our productivity off. To remove ourselves from the pressure of being on. It is by design.

Whoah.

What would it be like to think of our time-off in this way this holiday season? What if we saw this as a time to “rest and digest” in this season of life? As a time to hibernate and conserve our energy for what comes next? A time to rest and recharge so that we will be able to turn on our productivity when we need to? A time to do less and to be more?

You are after all, a human being, not a human doing.

As we move through the rest of this season, I encourage you to give yourself permission to be, in whatever way feels right for you right now. Vacation, after all, is about taking a break from the pressures of everyday life. Ask yourself – “what is it that makes me feel really good?”

Trust me, the majority (if not all) of the never-ending to-do list can wait.