Are Productivity Channels Really The Key To Success?
Due to the pandemic, many of us have started to work from home, and with this comes a long adjustment process. There have been many ways to cope with this sudden change, and one of the more popular means I chose to try was watching productivity channels on Youtube. These channels usually consist of tips on how to work more and daily routines that start as early as possible. One pretty lazy day, as I sat procrastinating on my work watching all these people, I started to wonder, “Is it really worth it to follow these routines?”.
Productivity has always been a complex concept. It is usually defined as working more, creating more, ticking off things on your to-do list by the end of the day or as soon as possible. We always see productivity as the key to success, and sometimes we even measure if it was a good day if we did all the things we planned. The word productivity has been so used that we see posts with contradicting definitions on what it means to be productive, which brings up more confusion. However, the term productive was coined in the field of agriculture and ecology, meaning to have the power to make in abundance and in the field of economics as “rate of output per unit”.
Upon reading this definition, I realized how a lot of the productivity channels would say “I finished these tasks today”, “I made these today” and a long list of similar sentences. It poses to us that as a society, we are hooked on the idea of outputs. We believe that our success relies on tangible proof of our hard work. It doesn’t matter how much time we spent time working on these things, at least there is proof that we are doing something worthwhile.
In this light, productivity channels look like a show of how much one can do in the 24 hours we all get in a day. The creators behind these channels would start their days early, work hard for hours, grab a snack, then go back to work. These videos make working seem so easy, with the time lapses, filtered clips, and calming background music. They show working through a rose-colored lens, wherein it romanticizes working and sitting at a desk for long periods of hours. We do not see the times where the creators are tired from working nonstop, the times where they want to quit, and the times where they enjoy leisurely activities. It is always a show of work which makes the concept of productivity seem so unattainable.
If we compare ourselves to these manipulated displays of work, it would be difficult for us to acknowledge that we have exerted a lot of effort in the tasks we put our minds to. We gloss over all the physical, mental, and emotional strains we have endured to tick off the little boxes in our to-do lists. We start to devalue our days of hard work because it doesn’t look as appealing or as effortless as the ones we watch on screen. It makes us critical of how we attain success, even when there’s no one watching us. It is as if we subject ourselves to working on the off chance that our routines will be displayed online.
But who are we to say that following these routines is what makes people successful? It may be true that routines like those shown online may have made CEOs or helped them gain a huge salary, nonetheless, that isn’t the only way to measure one’s success. We all have measures of success, and for some of us, it isn’t about material gain. There are so many other ways to say we’ve made it – having a better outlook in life, being happy in the job we’re in, the smiles on the receiving end of our work. To reduce the definition of success to the money we earn or the position we have in a company is inherently capitalistic of us as members of society. It shows that we live in a system built upon materialistic and economic gain, rather than focusing on the well-being of an individual, to the point that we would sacrifice our own happiness and health just to ensure we get the job done.
Subjecting ourselves to following routines geared towards outputs and materials is very damaging not only to our own perception of productivity and accomplishment but to the societal view as well. The notion of productivity channels shows that there is one specific way to be productive. If we aren’t following these types of routines, are we already slacking off? There are so many jobs that aren’t always at a desk and take a lot of time just sitting and conceptualizing. There are jobs that can’t be done as frequently due to the creative burnout a person can have. In making our definition of productivity geared towards hours upon hours of work, we put a lot of pressure on creative processes, which may even hinder people from making content.
It is true that we can get motivation from these productivity channels. We can feel as though we have someone with us to bear the struggles of working, but we cannot compare ourselves to these videos. It is important for us to acknowledge that routines aren’t one-size-fits-all. We are all trying our best to find the key to success, but maybe following the routines displayed online won’t help us open doors for many opportunities. We just have to take more time in discovering what fits for us and what will help us accomplish our goals.