Yes, It’s Okay to Have Non-Productive Days

The topic for this post was not my original idea…

I was going to write about productivity inspired by one of my favourite books on the topic. However today (this week really), I felt a lot of things, but productive was not on that list.

So I decided that I was just going to do some free-writing and let out some of my thoughts about the enemy of any attempt at rest and relaxation – productivity guilt.

This week, I’ve been having a really bad cold combined with a headache. As much as my mind wanted me to accomplish all of the things that I set myself out to do, my body wasn’t having it.

And we’ve probably all heard of this before – the only way that we could get better from any sort of sickness like a headache, is doing this thing called rest. Especially when you literally, physically, cannot do anything because your body just won’t let you.

For me, that meant no going to the gym, going to work, and doing my usual daily activities of errands.

That should be a good thing right? I get to rest and relax!! – BUT when you still have tons of work to do (such as studying for exams because don’t you love it when you happen to get sick on the week of exams? Fun!), it’s kind of hard to rest and relax.

Even if you don’t have anything major going on, you still can have this thing called “productivity guilt”, and yes that’s a thing!

This does not just apply when you are physically sick, this also applies to when you feel really tired and burnt out and what you really need right at that moment is a break.

BUT regardless of whether you’re physically sick or just downright tired, you deserve a break… without the productivity guilt. Here’s why.

Our “Favourite” Pattern

There has been plenty of moments where I had set myself up to do a list of things on my to do list but my physical body was not doing me any favours.

This either happens while I am physically sick or I’m just completely burned out.

There are days when the last thing I want to do is anything productive.

All I want to do some days is to relax, nap without an alarm, binge-watch Netflix crime documentaries, and just eat a bowl of ice cream . BUT, I know that if I do any of those things, I feel like I’ve lost my title at being “disciplined” and “productive”.

I really want to not feel guilty about giving myself a break because I always know that in the back of my mind, the fastest way to recover (in this case for today, being sick) is to rest.

It’s always the same pattern, and I know that I am not the only one – even though we all know that it’s crucial to take an unproductive day once in a while, when we take it, it is usually followed by a guilt train.

We feel like we are failing ourselves because we weren’t spending every moment of the day being productive.

Even up until this day, I’m still trying to remind myself that it’s okay to have an unproductive day once in a while because my worth is not determined by my productivity.

I guess we can blame society for this

We live in a society where we need to be grinding it out 24/7 and taking a break is a no go.

You’ve all heard of all those personal development/self improvement tips to success where they say you need to wake up at 5am to be successful, spend the first hours of your day getting all your work done – you need to be productive.

I’m not saying that any of those tips don’t work because for some they do, BUT if they don’t work for you that is completely okay as well, and it definitely does not mean that you are not going to be successful.

Don’t get me wrong – motivational videos you find on YouTube, especially on personal development are really good and give you a splash of motivation to improve yourself and make the most out of your day to day life.

However, regardless (I made this same mistake too) – if you’re aiming to hustle it out 24/7 without giving yourself a break (including taking on too many commitments even though you know you can’t physically handle it), you will burn out.

No Break = More Harm Than Good

It’s easier said and done to say that not giving yourself a break may do more harm than good. But when you think about it, the work you produce while under burn out or stress may not be of high quality and it may lead to doing even more work in the long term – and of course, that leads to wasting more time, and more beating ourselves up.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting to be productive on a daily basis, but it should not cost you your own mental and physical health. And it should definitely not tear apart your self image.

We all need to understand that no matter how successful someone is, everyone needs a break once in a while. And to be honest, we are all going to relate to that successful person who acknowledges that we are all human and can’t be functioning on productivity all the time.

It’s 100% Okay to Have a Break WITHOUT Productivity Guilt

Everyone may know already that self care is really important – and how you do that is different for everybody, as long as it’s giving you the chance to rest and recharge your batteries.

BUT don’t ruin that well-deserved break because you feel guilty about not being productive. Any tint of productivity guilt is sure to ruin a break.

Here are a few reminders:

Taking a break is not going to make you “lazy”.

Taking a break doesn’t mean that you’re never “doing anything with your life”.

Taking a break doesn’t mean that you’ll never “be successful”.

Taking a break means that you’re human.

Because at the end of the day, your worth is not going to be determined by your productivity.

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