Productivity guilt — AKA that sensation when you feel guilty for not wanting to work, or for “not being productive” — is a form of toxic productivity and hustle culture. It’s insidious! In this article, let’s explore the questions you might have related to this topic: “Should I feel guilty for not wanting to work? WHY do I feel guilty when I’m not productive, or for doing nothing on my day off work? How can I NOT feel guilty about having a lazy day or for not being productive?”
A condensed version of this article originally appeared as the July 13, 2024 edition of the Solopreneur Diary Entries newsletter.
Productivity Guilt
Toxic productivity and productivity guilt can crop up in all kinds of ways — including those moments when you struggle with the push/pull between *want* vs *should.*
For example, do you ever feel like you really DON’T want to do something in your business (or life!)... but you feel GUILTY about *not wanting* to do it? This recently came up in one of my coaching calls, and I bet you can relate!
We are bombarded with the “shoulds” from all different areas of life. It can contribute to those feelings of productivity guilt… and this creates a problem on two levels:
- You feel the guilt of not wanting to do the task, so you FORCE yourself to do it. This might reduce your guilt, buuuuuut it also makes you feel frustrated/resentful!
- You try to ignore the guilt, and you do NOT do the task (because you didn’t want to do it)... but the productivity guilt still tries to push through to the surface, because you aren’t addressing it.
Your third option is to acknowledge the guilt you’re feeling, take steps to work through it (there are likely several layers), and focus on what you genuinely want rather than giving way to the “shoulds.” As an anti-hustle Productivity Strategist and Personal Fulfillment Coach, Option #3 is the option I recommend 😉 We’re going to get more into that shortly, but first, let’s address a few other important questions you might be having…
Why do I feel guilty when I’m not productive? Why do I feel guilty for doing nothing on my day off work?
Here are a few of the reasons why you might feel guilty when you’re not productive, or why you feel guilty for “doing nothing” on your day off work:
- You’ve been socialized to believe that “being busy” = “being productive.” That couldn’t be farther from the truth! Being busy has very little in common with actually doing the stuff that matters most. Being busy is, frankly, “false productivity.” Another way to look at this is performative productivity — and all of these are symptoms of toxic hustle culture.
- You don’t know WHAT to do with yourself. You’ve put “work” on a pedestal to the point that you don’t have hobbies or things you like doing, just for you.
- Your task list is way longer than what’s realistically or reasonably doable. This typically indicates that you need to work on being highly strategic and intentional with your tasks, advancing your skills at prioritization, and also being more honest with yourself about what’s a realistic workload (and what needs to be removed from your task list).
- You believe that productivity guilt is the only way you can motivate yourself to work. You’re worried that if you don’t feel guilty about it — if you don’t beat yourself up for taking a break — then what if that means you NEVER get back to working? What if you become super lazy and never do anything ever again?
- You are uncomfortable with being alone with yourself. If you have a lot of negative self-talk or if you dislike some aspects of yourself, then you’ll do everything in your power (even if it’s at a subconscious level) to AVOID the act of simply “being” with yourself.
You saw yourself in that list, didn’t you? That list probably made you uncomfortable, didn’t it?
That’s okay! It’s FAR better for you to read that list and see yourself in it — and to be honest with yourself about the ways in which productivity guilt is affecting you — so that you can actually DO something about it, rather than if you skim through that list and decide you don’t want to acknowledge the truth in it.
I really encourage you to be honest with yourself about your own blindspots and areas of weakness.
The more that you’re willing to do that, the better positioned you’ll be to take action, change your relationship with productivity, overcome your productivity guilt, and become TRULY productive.
All 5 of those issues listed above are the exact types of things my clients struggle with when they first come to me for productivity coaching and life coaching — and by the end of our time together, they’re able to overcome these debilitating and frustrating issues!
You and I can work through all of this together, too, in personal fulfillment coaching sessions:
Should I feel guilty for not wanting to work?
In a word? No! Especially because there’s more beneath the surface of your productivity guilt…
Here’s the thing: There is a REASON why you are experiencing resistance to doing work.
There is something going on — even if you can’t quite see what it is — that makes you NOT want to do a thing.
And you know what? THAT, in and of itself, can be reason enough not to do it.
If you don’t want to do a task, that is a good enough reason to not pursue it.
There’s a lot of nuance to this, such as previous obligations and commitments, as well as differentiating between “I really don’t want to do this” vs “I’m nervous and it’s a bit outside of my comfort zone.”
That’s where strengthening your intuition comes into play!
The more that you connect deeply with your inner voice, the more you’ll be able to determine when you are ACTUALLY resistant to doing a thing, vs feeling a fear that you can then work through to get what you genuinely want.
My free masterclass, Intuition Activated, is the BEST resource for getting started with tapping into your intuition ♥
How to stop feeling guilty for not being productive
Want to know how to stop feeling guilty for not being productive? The first question I want you to ask yourself is THIS: “What do I mean when I think about ‘being productive’?”
Take a moment and think about your definition of “productivity.” How do you define productivity? What makes something (or someone) productive vs not productive?
As mentioned earlier in this article, toxic productivity and “busy work” is also what I like to refer to as “false productivity.” In this case, you can consider “being productive” as the ILLUSION of productivity, rather than the ACT or productivity.
The very first thing, then, that you are doing, is unpacking your definition and understanding of the very concept of productivity and what makes a person productive.
(More on this in these two articles: What is Toxic Productivity and Anti-hustle Productivity 101)
This is a fundamental unlearning of what you’ve been taught your entire life, and everything you’ve been trained for in school and in the workforce. There’s a lot to unpack here and process!
That’s exactly what we do inside the Productivity Powerhouse e-course — you’ll get step by step guides and processes for exactly how to unlearn what you think you know about productivity, how to combat hustle culture, and become TRULY productive (without the guilt!)...
…So that you free up 10 hours/week in your life and/or business (HELLO home-based business owner time freedom!), so that you enjoy true work/life balance guilt-free, and so that you make better and faster progress on your goals without burnout:
How to not feel guilty about having a lazy day
Having a lazy day or a “rot day” isn’t anything to feel guilty or ashamed about, for MANY reasons — including but not limited to the following:
- As a human being, you are always worthy of resting and “doing nothing.” Period.
- Rest and good energy management (customized to your unique needs) is actually essential to healthy productivity and GREAT (not just good) time management skills.
- Resting is helpful for your mental and emotional capabilities, your creativity, strategizing and planning skills, and the ability to connect the dots and problem-solve.
- Resting replenishes your physical body (for example, it can be very important to prevent physical overuse injuries).
- High-quality rest can help to improve your clarity, focus, and motivation — which a) prevents you from making mistakes at work, and b) improves your efficiency (so you get more done in less time, without burning yourself out).
There you go: Those are just 5 reasons why you should NOT feel guilty about having a lazy day!
How to NOT feel guilty about having a lazy day comes down to reconnecting with those above 5 things. Remind yourself that rest SUPPORTS you. It INCREASES your productivity. And in fact, if you do NOT have lazy days or rot days, then it will actually DETRACT from your productivity.
…So if you TRULY care about being productive, then you’ll prioritize rest.
(FYI: Read this article HERE about why I don’t like the term “lazy”)
3 questions to explore when overcoming productivity guilt
“I should do that task… But ugh, I really don’t want to do it.”
“I don’t like taking breaks — I feel too guilty about resting.”
“I want to take a break, and I know I NEED a break… but productivity guilt is making it impossible to actually rest and relax.”
“What if the only way I ever get anything done is BECAUSE I’ve attached guilt to it?”
Do those thoughts sound like you?
It’s okay to break free of the shoulds, AND it’s okay to feel guilty about breaking free of the “shoulds,” AND it’s okay to release that guilt.
You are a complex individual, and there’s a lot of overlap between emotions and thoughts and feelings like this. Give yourself grace!
Any time that first thought comes up — e.g. “I should do XYZ… but I really don’t want to do it” — here are 3 questions you might want to explore:
- Why do you believe you “should” do it?
- What specifically about this task makes you NOT want to do it?
- If guilt was NOT a factor in your choice whether to do this vs not do it… does that make your decision much easier?
Those are just the starting point, and barely the tip of the iceberg, to doing this work around productivity guilt!
There’s so much more we can get into together — fully customized to your unique spin on productivity guilt — when you book your personal fulfillment and anti-hustle productivity coaching sessions with me ♥
I’m looking forward to helping you work through all of this! You aren’t alone:
Did you enjoy this article?
A condensed version of it originally appeared as the July 13, 2024 edition of the Solopreneur Diary Entries weekly newsletter.
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