This post is so helpful! My writing group and I continually have this conversation about our relationship to work and productivity! I’m totally going to introduce them to “sneaky productivity”--such a useful term!
Hi Jillian! I love that your writing group continually has conversations about your collective relationships to work. It's so good to talk about these things! Glad that you liked the concept and found it helpful! :)
It’s really important to connect different kinds of addiction. This is a beautiful post -- so personal yet well researched.
I definitely am susceptible to workaholism. Not living in America anymore helped a bit; I just found the environment so competitive -- you were a better person, it seemed, if you had done a bunch of work on the weekend. (I have found it with other American colleagues abroad, too.) But of course, you can simply disengage with that culture if you choose! Becoming an independent writer/researcher has given me bouts of this again. Like you describe, it can be hard to keep boundaries. I try using work timers and setting the limit when I pick up my son, but it’s still not easy. Even if we enjoy the work, we have to step away. And maybe it’s about how we value ourselves. FOur Thousand Weeks by Burkeman really helps me consider that time dynamic. Thanks for this really useful post :)
Agree with this! I often find it harder to tear myself away from my own work than anything else. Boundaries can be so difficult to put in place when you're enjoying what you're doing.
Yes - agree with both of you! It's harder to set boundaries with something that you're enjoying or that has a tangible "end point". Still figuring that one out for my job and my creative things but trying to be more aware of time or just choose one task to get done rather than a continual, never-ending list!
Kate I TOTALLY feel you on this! Sometimes I feel like the things I'm overworking on feel like a "treat" (writing) or feel like they'll help my life move smoother (organization, planning) so pulling myself away from them so I can rest my body/eyes and do something else that is "fun" can even feel like a punishment! So interesting and something I continually unpack!
Thank you for your kind words about my post and I'm glad that it resonated with your experience. Also cool to hear you share that not living in America has helped a bit, yet how other American colleagues abroad still were drawn to overwork on weekend, etc. Isn't it interested how doing our own research and writing can kick in that academic "work all the time" energy again? It's similar to how I felt when I was in academia, too! I listened to a bit of Four Thousand Weeks on audiobook, but it's now been recommended so many times that I do think I'll need to check it out! :)
It’s so good! A friend of mine recommended it; he said it was life changing and it was. Academia...yes...first year of my PhD I became a zombie haha then I learned how to do it differently. Still tough. We’re getting there :)
This is really interesting! I'm definitely susceptible to this way of working too - I think with teaching type jobs you always feel you could be doing more for people and it's hard to stop sometimes. I also wonder if part of it is wanting to control something, when the world is messy and confusing I know that I can work through this stack of essays from students or create this or that document and get a tanglible, finished 'thing'. Does that make sense?! That little dopamine hit of 'achievement' is so hard to resist soem days! Such an interesting subject. Will check out the links you shared too. Congratulations of 10 years of sobriety too - an incredible milestone! Hope the chicken fingers hit the spot. ✨
What you said about wanting to work through a tangible finished thing as a way to feel in control when the world is so messy TOTALLY resonates with me! I'm glad you enjoyed the letter. And thank you for your congratulations! :)
I always thought that the reason I liked working when others weren't around was because I had less distractions. I think this is true but maybe it may also be a form of sneaky productivity 🤔
I feel like sneaky productivity is such a slippery slope and it can shift, too! I also love to work when others aren't around so I can set up my music, get my coffee, and focus...but when I notice I'm trying to hide that I'm working is when I catch myself doing sneaky productivity! Thanks for posting this comment--I imagine a lot of folks will relate!
This post is so helpful! My writing group and I continually have this conversation about our relationship to work and productivity! I’m totally going to introduce them to “sneaky productivity”--such a useful term!
Hi Jillian! I love that your writing group continually has conversations about your collective relationships to work. It's so good to talk about these things! Glad that you liked the concept and found it helpful! :)
Congrats on 10 years sober!!
It’s really important to connect different kinds of addiction. This is a beautiful post -- so personal yet well researched.
I definitely am susceptible to workaholism. Not living in America anymore helped a bit; I just found the environment so competitive -- you were a better person, it seemed, if you had done a bunch of work on the weekend. (I have found it with other American colleagues abroad, too.) But of course, you can simply disengage with that culture if you choose! Becoming an independent writer/researcher has given me bouts of this again. Like you describe, it can be hard to keep boundaries. I try using work timers and setting the limit when I pick up my son, but it’s still not easy. Even if we enjoy the work, we have to step away. And maybe it’s about how we value ourselves. FOur Thousand Weeks by Burkeman really helps me consider that time dynamic. Thanks for this really useful post :)
Agree with this! I often find it harder to tear myself away from my own work than anything else. Boundaries can be so difficult to put in place when you're enjoying what you're doing.
Yes - agree with both of you! It's harder to set boundaries with something that you're enjoying or that has a tangible "end point". Still figuring that one out for my job and my creative things but trying to be more aware of time or just choose one task to get done rather than a continual, never-ending list!
Kate I TOTALLY feel you on this! Sometimes I feel like the things I'm overworking on feel like a "treat" (writing) or feel like they'll help my life move smoother (organization, planning) so pulling myself away from them so I can rest my body/eyes and do something else that is "fun" can even feel like a punishment! So interesting and something I continually unpack!
Thank you for your kind words about my post and I'm glad that it resonated with your experience. Also cool to hear you share that not living in America has helped a bit, yet how other American colleagues abroad still were drawn to overwork on weekend, etc. Isn't it interested how doing our own research and writing can kick in that academic "work all the time" energy again? It's similar to how I felt when I was in academia, too! I listened to a bit of Four Thousand Weeks on audiobook, but it's now been recommended so many times that I do think I'll need to check it out! :)
It’s so good! A friend of mine recommended it; he said it was life changing and it was. Academia...yes...first year of my PhD I became a zombie haha then I learned how to do it differently. Still tough. We’re getting there :)
Well done on your 10 years sober-anniversary! Thank you for sharing that, and for this reminder about workaholism.
This is really interesting! I'm definitely susceptible to this way of working too - I think with teaching type jobs you always feel you could be doing more for people and it's hard to stop sometimes. I also wonder if part of it is wanting to control something, when the world is messy and confusing I know that I can work through this stack of essays from students or create this or that document and get a tanglible, finished 'thing'. Does that make sense?! That little dopamine hit of 'achievement' is so hard to resist soem days! Such an interesting subject. Will check out the links you shared too. Congratulations of 10 years of sobriety too - an incredible milestone! Hope the chicken fingers hit the spot. ✨
What you said about wanting to work through a tangible finished thing as a way to feel in control when the world is so messy TOTALLY resonates with me! I'm glad you enjoyed the letter. And thank you for your congratulations! :)
I always thought that the reason I liked working when others weren't around was because I had less distractions. I think this is true but maybe it may also be a form of sneaky productivity 🤔
I feel like sneaky productivity is such a slippery slope and it can shift, too! I also love to work when others aren't around so I can set up my music, get my coffee, and focus...but when I notice I'm trying to hide that I'm working is when I catch myself doing sneaky productivity! Thanks for posting this comment--I imagine a lot of folks will relate!