What is The Best Way to Manage Toxic Productivity?
As a young journalist, Charlotte Calombo feels the pressure to succeed, especially during a global pandemic where newsrooms keep downsizing, and freelance budgets are being cut. She spoke to Jessica Boston about this phenomenon for JournoResources.
Even when I’m trying to scroll Netflix during my free time, I’ll be tapping away on my laptop simultaneously, unable to tear myself away from emails for even a second. While committing to personal growth is great, it can become an obsessive endeavour – am I up to date with everything? Am I wasting time by not doing more? It seems young journalists, especially, are susceptible to becoming trapped in this toxic cycle of radical self-improvement. Twitter has us believing seasoned journalists smash out one thought-provoking think piece after the other, in turn forcing you to question your own productivity. As a result, young writers may develop a toxic relationship whereby they constantly pressure themselves to produce work.
What Is Toxic Productivity?
A lot of young journalists are feeling the pressure to be productive. According to hypnotherapist Jessica Boston, toxic productivity is “when our productivity has become something we must or should do. It’s not about the option to, but about unconscious obligation. Hypnotherapist Jessica Boston says toxic positivity is an unconscious obligation. “If you can’t watch a film without being on your laptop, if you struggle to sit still and be in the present without performing, chances are this is coming from perceived unconscious inadequacies,” she says. “Without commuting, socialising and other normal distractions, we can squeeze more into our day, it feels that time is now more fluid than before, and so we have fewer boundaries with how we spend it. “You stay busy all day long, but the toxic part is that you never really feel satisfied with yourself. You experience feelings of failure and guilt on a daily basis, and this often leads to mental exhaustion.”
“Just do a little bit less each day. Push through the discomfort and, as you go, affirm that your value is intrinsic, regardless of how much or little you get done.”
Jessica says that we should devote time to slowly unlearning harmful working habits. “Don’t feel you have to resolve issues in one day. Chances are, if this has been part of your life for a while, it’ll take a minute to unlearn, so be patient,’ she says.
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