The Tyranny of Productivity

By Lon W. Schiffbauer, BA, MBA, PhD, SPHR

I’m obsessed with productivity. There isn’t a minute of my day that isn’t dedicated to the setting and accomplishing of goals. From the moment I wake up to make my wife breakfast to the last 10-minutes of the evening in which I’m cleaning the downstairs to “reset” our space for the next day, I’m always directing my efforts toward specific, clearly-defined objectives.

And once in a while, in my more lucid moments, the thought occurs to me that this is all bullshit.

Think about this: 200 years ago, your great-great-great-whatever-grandfather did…what exactly? I mean, unless you’re into genealogy, my guess is you don’t even know that names of your ancestors that far back, let alone anything of note that they may have accomplished. And you definitely have no idea what they were doing on August 26 of 1822.

Too abstract for you? Alright, then answer me this: what did you do Tuesday four years ago, or even four months ago? I mean, if I went back and checked my calendar I could get an idea, but only that—a vague idea.

You can see where I’m going with this. Your life and what you do with your time on this earth is the most important thing above all else—to you, that is. But with very few exceptions, what you do with your time doesn’t matter much at all to the grand scheme of human history.

Something like 117 billion people have lived on this earth, and between friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, and historical figures, I might, might be able to name 1,000 of them. So, the odds that anyone will remember me in the future, let alone care how I spent my time, is pretty much nil.

And it’s in part this existential dread that drives us to produce in the first place. The idea that we’re insignificant specs in an indifferent universe fills us with such terror that we are driven to make whatever mark we can in this crazy world.

Okay, listen, I’m sorry. My wife says I need to stop flogging this nihilistic crap, so yeah, I’ve strayed out of my lane. So let’s take a more pragmatic approach to this. Afterall, maybe we won’t be remembered 200 years from now, but that’s not where we live.

We live in the here and now, and in the here and now, there are a lot of people relying on us. So regardless of what armchair philosophers like me may say, that doesn’t change the fact that, right now, we have shit to get done.

This brings me back to my almost manic obsession with productivity. I’m constantly driven to push forward, and my guess, if you’re listening to this, you’re in the same boat. It’s so common that there’s even a name for it: hustle culture.

You’re probably tired of hearing the term (I know I am), but it’s worth taking a moment to revisit the idea. Hustle culture tells us that this is always more to be done and more to be had—more money, more status, more success, more accolades—you name it.

There’s a lot of talk today about the toxicity of hustle culture, but that’s an oversimplification of what gives rise to this mindset and the good and bad it can play in our lives.

Profit Motive

While as a term hustle culture may be relatively new, the idea is far from novel. In his book, The Wealth of Nations, Adam smith talks of something he calls the profit motive, which is the constant drive for monetary gain and all that it can afford.

The profit motive pushes us to continuously striving forward, spurring innovation and the betterment of society. This is awesome, but there’s a dark side as well. The profit motive tells us that our current state isn’t good enough, that we need to push forward and accumulate more.

That may be well and good, but the thing is, we live in the current state, which, if we give heed to the profit motive, means we perpetually live in a state of dissatisfaction.

Protestant Work Ethic

Another influence that has been around a lot longer than hashtag #riseandgrind is what Max Weber calls the Protestant Work Ethic. We are taught that to be busy is virtuous, whereas to be idle is to be slothful and therefore sinful.

This means that if you’re not continuously stiving forward and being productive with every moment you’ve been given on this earth, you’re nothing less than a lazy good-for-nothing slob.

Psychology of Productivity

The reason that things like the profit motive and the Protestant work ethic are able to take such root in lives is because they are supported by some underlying psychological mechanisms.

For example, setting goals and micromanaging our time and resources gives us a sense of autonomy and control. Feeling a sense of autonomy especially is an important part for our psychological health and wellbeing.

Domain of Self-Worth

For many of us (and I’m definitely part of this cohort), our productivity is our domain of self-worth. This means that we measure our value as a person by our level of productivity and ability to accomplish meaningful goals.

Equating our worth as a person with our level of productivity is a sure-fire way of ensuring that we’re going to keep busy 24/7.

Social Status

Our ability to be productive also adds to our social standing. Part of this makes sense. Whether you need help moving out of your third-floor apartment or designing the latest and greatest app, you like having people in your circle who know how to get shit done.

This is earned social standing—earned through our hard work and stick-to-itiveness. Then there’s the phony side of this equation, the people who air quotes “complain” about how busy they are, waving their martyrdom for all to see and worship. They’re not really complaining, their flaunting their pathetic sense of self-importance.

I know, I’m coming down pretty hard on this behavior, but I’ve never really had much stomach for it. Point is, they’re trying to make a case for their own worth, value, and importance by demonstrating how busy they are.

The Irony of Wealth

Then there’s the weird paradox of wealth, which is, the more you have, the more expensive life becomes. At first this may seem counterintuitive, but the more you look at it, the more obvious it becomes.

Everything we own comes with maintenance costs, so the more we own, the harder we have to work to maintain that which we already own. Any homeowner knows that maintaining a property can be an expensive proposition.

Even something as innocuous as a garden and a well-manicured lawn can cost thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours a year to maintain. Pipes burst, kitchens need repairs, electrical system give you grief, garage doors give out; the list is endless.

Have you ever heard the saying, “He who dies with the most toys wins”? Well, he who lives with the most toys lives as a slave to those toys—slaves to our material masters.

It’s Hard to Say No

It’s not always easy to say no when someone asks us for something. We’re generally hardwired to want to be part of the solution. We all have a need to establish close personal bonds and relationships with others, and a great way to do this is to be there when people need us.

This means that we’re loath to jeopardize these relationships—relationships upon which we depend to feel a sense of caring support, security, and belonging. Saying no, we might reason, could possibly threaten these relationships.

What’s more, we know that the day may very well come in which we need to ask others for help, and when that day comes, it’s best to have clout in the bank.

Hide From the Messier Aspects of Life

All of these are legit reasons we feel a need to be forever working and productive, but the most insidious of all is that it’s a place for us to hide from the real problems and responsibilities we may not want to face.

“Active inaction”—As Saint Francis de Sales calls it.

There’s no better way to put off doing the big hard ugly things than by busying ourselves with a limitless supply small menial things that give us that sweet, sweet productivity hit we so desperately crave.

Now I want to be clear, I’m not preaching here; I’m self-diagnosing. Everything we’ve talked about? Yeah, that’s totally me. So obviously, I have some work to do.

As I pointed out at the top of this article, my obsessive need to be productive has a vague whiff of senseless futility about it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like being productive, but sometimes I feel like the tail is wagging the dog.

So with this in mind, I’m adding a new clause to my vision statement, which is, Relax Lazily. Yeah, I know. It’s a weird sort of sick irony that I have to set an objective around being lazy, but that’s how I roll.

Lon is an Associate Professor of Business Management at Salt Lake Community College and holds an MBA, a PhD, and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). In addition to his academic background, Lon spent close to 30 years working and consulting for such companies as FedEx, Intel, eBay, and PayPal, as well as a variety of small to mid-sized companies around the world.