Managing Unproductive Guilt

This image really captured my attention the other day. As a self-proclaimed “busy” person, I tend to be hyper-focused on getting things done. So much so that I used to feel guilty about my moments (hours, days, and sometimes even weeks) of non-productivity. But, I now realize that being unproductive is essential to my ability to be productive.

Essentially, there are times where you just have to give yourself a break. Take stock of your life, recognize that you’ve reached your limits, and allow yourself to be comfortable with being unproductive. I believe this is critical to mental and emotional health. Truthfully, sometimes that non-productivity guilt still finds a way into my mind.

What has helped me manage the guilt so far this year is making a list of my life’s most important things (faith, health, family, education, career, entrepreneurship, and community service). I hesitate to call them priorities, because the Oxford dictionary defines a priority as “a thing that is regarded as more important than another.” I refer back to the list each day when thinking through what I need to accomplish vs. what I get requested to do.

An area in which I need to improve relates to productivity systems. My biggest challenge is that I have numerous sources of input (tasks, roles, email accounts, text messages, social media inboxes, etc) and that makes it…