Marie-Claire AssekoIn a world that changes at an increasingly faster pace, we are all trying to not get left behind.
This is a summary of the Season 1 – Episode 1 of The Kaizen Gal podcast titled “Performance Fatigue & Perspectives”.
It all started with the pandemic. Or…did it?
In my opinion, the pandemic definitely exacerbated it.
From one day to the next, we all went home and the boundaries in our daily routines melted away. We can all agree that our collective psyche is permanently impacted. Not just by the scale but also the speed of changes we had to adjust to in a short period of time.
How the productivity race exacerbated
First, we thought that the virus (not called a pandemic back then) would be a temporary thing. When we got locked down at home, we picked up a lot of new habits or hobbies. Motivated by the goal of becoming a new person coming out of lockdown.
Some of us started to:
- bake their own bread👩🏾🍳,
- learn a new language for all the future travels🌍to come,
- get or stay in shape🤸🏾♀️…
You name it, we did it! Just check your Amazon’s order history🖥️.
There was an unspoken wish to turn that forced break into an opportunity to refresh and renew ourselves. We tried to make the most out of it if you will. As a way to not get discouraged😣 by the continuous flow of bad news🫣 that we experienced in 2020. It was about taking the proverbial lemons and turned them into something beneficial in the end.
We entered a race to catch-up on the parts of life that were perhaps lost or blurred when we were outside of the home commuting, in happy hours or running errands straight from work, etc.
On the contrary ➡️ We were locked at home and we discovered that life can also happen within its walls. So, lots of things started to happen there.
This newfound place of discovery, the home, was not ours only. Some of us had and still have partners, children at home. At the same time, we also had to adjust our lives to this new context. We had to learn how to work from home and maintain productivity, for those who had that privilege.
Cultural differences towards work
Being born and raised in Gabon, I was exposed to French cultural values all throughout my life. I clearly see the differences in how people perceive work in those 2 places and in North America.
- That catch-up race I mentioned is very specific to North America; 🏋🏾♀️“do the most”, “hustle hard” or “rise and grind”.
- No one in Europe or in Africa has ever mentioned to me that “we have the same 24 hours as Beyoncé” as an example of productivity🧘🏾♀️🌱.
Not trying to indulge in stereotypical statements, but…
Most Africans and Europeans do not care nor think about work like North Americans:
productivity is much more laid-back and does not represent their identity.
In a context that was depriving us of our typical freedom, we tried hard to push through with optimism.
- As a result, we started to run even faster towards performance or new goals.
- We were grieving how we used to live before the pandemic. Yet, we also imprisoned ourselves🥵 in the forward vision of who we wanted to be by the end of it.
Somewhere along the way, we, North Americans, got lost in the constant rethinking and reframing of our lives and priorities.
I am guilty of that myself. I changed a lot of things drastically in my life: I changed jobs, took on more classes at university and changed my living conditions.
Throughout, I didn’t give myself the time to adjust to the changes😮💨. And that is the story that I see across the board.
Changes Sometimes So Abrupt
Happening in a whirlwind of emotions
It did not stop us from going at it with more drive and harder than before.
This is what created and is feeding fatigue; performance fatigue😤 to be exact.
Several friends of mine who started new jobs during the pandemic were jaded by them 6 to 9 months in 😶🌫️. Not because their jobs were not to their liking, but because they went at it full throttle when they first got started. With all the excitement of doing something new, the best of intentions to break from their old work patterns,etc.
Then they ran out of gas and their engine (mental health, body, energy levels) started to break down.
Although tired, they felt guilty for having to rest (i.e. not fully honoring the opportunity given to them) or needing a medical leave (i.e. being weak compared to others or letting them down).
➡️It is very hard to break away from that pandemic-induced version of the productivity race without feeling guilt.
For myself, I have started to reframe that race through the African perspective:
No matter how fast we run, time is going to outrun us anyway.
It is not an excuse to not do anything. Rather a different perspective about the sometimes fabricated sense of urgency we, North Americans, tend to infuse in all areas of our lives.
When productivity is solely about increasing or improving the tangible outputs in our lives, we forget that resting is also productive🤗.
- It is when we sleep that our brain regenerates and consolidates learnings from the day.
- Some activities, like taking a walk or reading a book, are restorative to our mood, our creativity and our ability to actually work afterwards.
We forget that our goals, our objectives are an expression of who we are and who we want to be, what we strive to achieve as an extension of ourselves.
Let’s not to be slaves to goals that are supposed to serve and guide us! Next time you want to serve your goal, remember that it is supposed to be the opposite.
Habits For Healthy Productivity
We all need to be reminded that running on empty is not a lifestyle. The complete opposite actually.
- A productive lifestyle means embedding self-care♨️ (mental, social, physical, etc.) into your schedule. It is critical. The same way we are advised to pay ourselves first when we receive our paycheck, we should plan time for ourselves first when we plan our time.
- In the Agile/Scrum methodology, we have a retrospective 🤔 at the end of each sprint. The goal is to stop and look back 🔁 on what worked, what did not work. Most importantly, we focus on the mindset that enabled the successes and the mindset that enabled the setbacks💭.
That means that whenever you are running towards your goals, you know that you are going to have a break at some point along the way: a day at a spa by yourself, a coffee chat with a friend – whatever is restorative to you.
What it Means For me
I am often being told that I am “always” busy. That is not entirely true.
Most people assume that I am doing something else of importance when I decline commitments. But most times I am staying at home, taking myself to the movie or the spa. It is planned rest.
Unless I have a change of mind/heart, I will stick to my schedule.
Isn’t that motivating to give your all knowing that you’ve planned to pamper yourself afterwards?
Doesn’t it help to have something exciting to look forward to after you’ve reached a goal?
Also, you’ll probably relate to that: it is sometimes when you do nothing that the best ideas come to you. Because your mind is wandering, taking in its surroundings, lingering on thoughts that you typically put away because you don’t have time to dive into them…
Nurture Productivity With Rest
To nurture your drive towards productivity with rest, plan your rest first → Rest is the productivity currency of your body, mind and soul.
- You might be able to run on empty physically, but the moment you start to run on empty mentally, that’s when you can’t even find the drive anymore. You can’t tap into your inner self because it is dried up.
- Don’t sacrifice your health and rest for a company that would furlough you, may have done so during the pandemic or just recently, in the blink of an eye.
- We like to think that we are irreplaceable at work, but we are NOT irreplaceable. (Sorry to burst your bubble!)
- You may be essential for your employer and it might be difficult for them to replace you if you take a leave but they’ll find a way, believe it. If it was the case that it was impossible, companies would not be able to thrive. Companies are built to be resilient to employee turnover and workplace happenings.
- Claim your power and your right and your privilege as an employee to take a leave.
The only place you’re irreplaceable for is with your family and friends. They would make do if you’re not available but your absence will always be felt.
So the one thing I want you to get from this article:
- When a new month, a new week, a new day comes along, depending on how you typically plan, time-block moments for yourself first🗓️.
- Minutes, hours – no matter how long or how short – where you don’t have to answer to anyone, where you’re not responsible for anything and can just have a moment to yourself.
You might be able to push yourself to the limit.
But hitting the limit doesn’t have to be the ultimate timestamp for rest.
Mental rest and physical rest are important. If you don’t do that, you’re actually preventing yourself from reaching your goals as you won’t be able to deliver your best work sustainably.
Sidenote: even God rested after doing good work. Why wouldn’t you?
⚡Do not reduce who you are to what you create🌟. You are much more than you do🤩.
