OK. On the topic of “be more productive” vs “stop telling me to be more productive.”

I’m on the wrong side of 40 and right now one of my strongest value props is… perspective. So I’m going to apply some of that here.

With love.

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I’ve made it through a handful of recessions of varying nastiness. I’ve been laid off 3 times.

I’ve also worked in tech long enough to cringe at our fetish with constant, eternal self-improvement and endless “can you top this” personal goals.

So, like I said. Perspective.
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Here’s the thing. If you're employed right now, you’re very likely subject to not 1, but 2 profound sources of anxiety: 1. the pandemic & its social impact, and 2: you’re also hearing from friends and maybe co-workers that have been laid off. This is a byproduct of reality.

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For people to use a blanket “stop worrying about being productive” means we’re pretending that those economic & business realities don’t exist. They do. We need to figure out a way to contend.

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My point is, you are capable of this. You absolutely are.

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So - and this is where I say “stay with me here” – it’s just more complicated than saying “you don’t need to be productive now.” You know and I know that at some point you do need to figure out a way to be productive, once you’re mentally ready.

I’m hoping this will help.
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Tip 1: Self care: Treat it as a scheduled event. It can take any form: meditation, primal screaming, an hour of needlepoint, a half hour of listening to standup comedy. Put it on your calendar every day and stick to the routine. Make up a doctor phone appt. if you need to

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Tip 2: Stop accepting every meeting invite. Encourage asynchronous work through Google docs, Slack, whatever. Say no to things you don’t absolutely need to do, but also keep your eyes open for opportunities where you can add real value by being there, and spend time there.

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Tip 3: This is critical: Guard your sleep time with FEROCITY. Cordon off the nighttime hours as sacrosanct. Use white noise, ASMR, music, sleep mask. You can’t do anything about world problems during sleep time so don’t fight the demons. Tell the demons to get f**ked.
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Tip 4: Take time to quietly celebrate your accomplishments. Not on social media. Alone. as if you were giving yourself a very positive annual review. If the spirit moves you, update your website or LinkedIn profile to make sure your proudest achievements are reflected there.
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