Redefining Productivity: What Does It Mean Without Hustle Culture?

The gist: Hustle Culture has warped and narrowed our definition of work, and redefining productivity is a way to dismantle the toxic norms Hustle Culture's created.

What even is productivity? 🤔

Work Brighter is all about questioning that, and imagining what productivity looks like OUTSIDE of Hustle Culture and the glorification of capitalism.

So in this post, we're talking about what productivity has traditionally meant, the problems with that thanks to Hustle Culture, and why it's far past time to redefine how we think of productivity and getting things done.

What even is productivity anymore? 🤔

Traditionally, productivity has been defined as producing something. Technically, anything.

When you look up the definitions, there are multiple versions, including words like "abundance," "bringing about," "creating benefits or results," and other very vague, fuzzy definitions.

When I was younger, to me that meant productivity could be anything.

At the time, it inspired me. It meant the definition that I'm going to suggest later in this piece.

But to most people, and to my adult self with bills to pay, productivity meant something very different.

Let's refer to this adult definition as "the Hustle Culture version of productivity," instead of the vague dictionary definition.

The Hustle Culture definition of productivity is the one that's most prevalent in 21st century society.

Hustle Culture's definition of productivity

In this one, productivity is defined by your usefulness to capitalism.

Productivity has become thought of as something that's exclusive to paid labor, to our jobs, to the end goal of profit.

It's become a businessy, corporatey term.

Or so Hustle Culture says...

Hustle Culture says to be productive means to have side hustles instead of hobbies, to demonize downtime, and to relentlessly chase your way up the business ladder.

(I say "business ladder" instead of "corporate ladder" because this is bigger than what a lot of us consider corporate companies. The Hustle Culture mindset around productivity is just as, if not more, prevalent in startups, small businesses, and self-employment spaces as it is in big corporations. Entrepreneurs might be some of the biggest purveyors of it right now tbh.)

Hustle culture also says quantity beats quality in both hours worked and things produced.

That busy or profitable are the same things as productive.

A pretty far ways off from the general idea and definition of "creating benefits," right?

The definition has changed, and not for the better. 😬

What's the problem with this definition and mindset?

Well, in short, how capitalistic it is. And what that means for us as humans.

Business productivity is one kind of productivity. But not the only kind.

Personal productivity tends to be overlooked and under-talked about in favor of business productivity. Even though, in my opinion, it's more important.

Because a business can't, or at least shouldn't, be productive in it's business or financial goals if the people within the business—all the people—aren't productive.

And productivity should be about a bigger picture than benefits to a business's bottom line.

But unfortunately, lots of businesses are now structured with extremely productive and overworked employees overcompensating for unproductive and underworked management and executives.

And because the company is just looking at the bottom line, they're fine with it. Plus, the management and executives are the ones controlling the capital and narrative.

The productivity obsession has created a culture of burnout

The rise of the obsession with this definition of productivity has turned overwork and burnout into the societal norm.

As Anne Helen Peterson talks about in her book, Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation, people being exploited for labor, overworked, and burnt out has always happened, especially exploiting marginalized groups.

But what's changed is that overwork and burnout has now gone from something that was specific to certain jobs, classes, situations to the norm for almost everyone, almost all the time.

It's built on the idea of meritocracy, but it's just that: an idea, not reality.

The game of success is rigged against most of us

Work culture and business ends up being an exclusive race where only the most privileged and resourced has a real chance to win.

Disabled and chronically ill people like myself can't stay in the race without further damaging their health.

Neurodivergent people can't process information the same way.

Parents and other caretakers can't compete without neglecting their other duties.

People of Color are gatekept by white people too comfortable in their power.

Marginalized identities will always have to deal with the fact that the race is rigged against us.

We all started at different starting points, and are moving in different vehicles and directions, but are expected to get to the same finish line in the same amount of time.

This race does. not. work. and we've got to stop participating in it. As runners, as spectators, and as judges.

The book Burnout talks about this really well, meaning using Star Trek references. 🖖

It doesn't allow us to be three-dimensional humans

Narrowing our productivity down to capitalist value only narrows our lives down to just one dimension.

But our jobs, Hustle Culture, and capitalism aren't everything.

We all deserve the space, energy, and time to produce, create, and do outside of what we get paid for.

Modern society might not be set up to enable it right now, but modern society needs to change.

We need to dismantle Hustle Culture and redefine productivity. To take it back to it's fuzzy, amorphous blob roots. To let it mean more than paid labor.

Here's my proposal for redefining productivity

We need to remember to look beyond the work and labor we're paid to do when it comes to productivity, and instead look at all of it.

All of the different ways we're required to give our energy to other people, places, and things. All of the nouns.

We don't tend to think of all that stuff as work, but it is.

Taking care of yourself? That's work, which is why I always say rest is work.

Taking care of other people is definitely work, even if America treats is as unpaid or underpaid.

And taking care of your home or community or environment is work, too.

We all do way more work than we realize.

Because we've gotten tricked into thinking anything outside of our day job is leisure that's supposed to be relaxing.

Reminder: it's not.

So when I explain what productivity is to students in Work Brighter's courses, here's how I define it:

Productivity is doing what you need to do, when you need to do it, how you need to do it, to the best of your ability.

Productivity is doing what you need to do

And when I say doing what you need to do, I mean for yourself, not your business or employer.

That means when you need to rest? The most productive thing to do is sleep.

When you're in pain? It's productive to stop working and tend to that pain.

Feeling depressed? Productivity in that moment is whatever will help you with that.

And note the part about how YOU need to do it.

Because productivity is personal.

Productivity is personal

As we talk about in everything we publish here, the best way for each of us to do something is different.

I'm writing this after my partner has gone to bed, at almost midnight, but it's 100% the most productive way for me to do so, because this is when I'm most creatively energetic.

But that probably won't be the same for you!

This is why I talk about energy management as a filter - you learn enough about yourself to personalize your work in ways most of us has never learned to do.

It helps bring you back to the version of productivity outside of Hustle Culture and capitalism.

Productivity is embracing ease

Finally, the "how you need to do it" part of the definition means permission to do things however's easiest for you. Letting go of how you "should" do them.

We all think differently, so why shouldn't we work differently too?

The productivity best practices can be helpful as a starting point, as suggestions to try and see what sticks. But following all the best practices quickly turns into the worst.

And since Hustle Culture values effort more than results, we see struggling to follow other people's rules as a good thing. When in reality, it's creating unnecessary obstacles for yourself.

We're redefining productivity together

Redefining productivity so it doesn't just apply to paid labor and activities that benefit capitalism is one way we can dismantle Hustle Culture.

In fact, probably the easiest way.

Changing how we define our work is a much smaller task than changing how we actually do it.

But you know the Work Brighter motto: baby steps make big things happen. 🙌

If you're ready to redefine productivity, our community is the spot for you.

And if you liked this post, you'll also love:

• Why Rest is the Secret to Sustainable Productivity
• Why You Need to Be Bored to Be Brilliant (and How to Let It Happen)
• The Privilege of Minimalism: Who Gets to Be a Minimalist?
• Is Work/Life Balance a Myth? Here’s the Brighter Take