The Productivity Trap

If you feel overworked, stressed, and permanently exhausted—caught in a cycle of trying to do more with less time and even less energy—you are not alone. In our society, the pressure to constantly be more productive, to run faster, and to cram more into every waking moment often backfires, leading to burnout and a feeling of always falling behind. This “death spiral” leaves you with more to do and less capacity to do it. This episode of Resilience in Dark Times offers a surprising and counterintuitive path to reclaiming your time and restoring your energy. It’s an essential listen for anyone trapped on the hamster wheel and ready to learn how doing less is the only path to achieving more.

“The more and more…effort you put in, the less return you get. And so then you need to put in more and more effort and you get even less return. And it’s this death spiral.”

— Michael Glavin

What You’ll Discover in This Episode

In this episode, host Michael Glavin explores:

• Why the conventional advice to “be more productive” often makes the problem of burnout worse.

• The powerful, two-word strategy that seems counterintuitive but is the foundation for restoring your energy.

• The three-step progression for reclaiming your energy

• How to apply the principles of a pendulum to escape the cycle of low-energy work and low-quality rest.

• A Japanese folktale that serves as a powerful warning about the hidden costs of ambition and greed.

• How to redefine what you truly need to do, shifting your priorities to create the experience of abundant time.

“You want to think of it as a bow. If you want the arrow to go forward, you need to pull it back. You need that rest, relaxation. And the more you pull back on that bow, more rest and relaxation and good night sleep you get, then the more productive you’ll be, the farther that arrow will go.”

— Michael Glavin

Resources Mentioned

Explore the concepts and people discussed in this episode:

• Tara Brach: A psychotherapist and Buddhist teacher with a highly recommended podcast featuring free meditations and dharma talks. Check out her podcast.

• Jon Kabat-Zinn: The source of the definition of mindfulness used in the episode: “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”

• Thursday is the New Friday by Joe Sanok: A New York Times bestselling book that explores the research behind how relaxation and recreation are directly linked to productivity.

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): An 8-week course mentioned as an effective way to establish a mindfulness routine.

• “The Grateful Crane” (or “The Crane Wife”): The Japanese folktale used to illustrate the dangers of ambition and the importance of recognizing what you truly need.

• “Systematic Review of Mindfulness Practice for Reducing Job Burnout”: Strong evidence supports the use of mindfulness practice to reduce job burnout among health care professionals.

• “Give me a break!”: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance.

• “Psychological detachment from work predicts mental wellbeing of working-age adults”: The ability to psychologically detach from work during the first pandemic lockdown, and improvement in this recovery activity over time, predicted better mental wellbeing and quality of life…

• “Associations of leisure-time physical activity and…mental health outcomes”: Promoting physical activity can improve population health. This study aimed to examine associations of leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and active school transport with mental health, that is, symptoms of depression and anxiety…

• “Cultural leisure activities, recovery and work engagement among hospital employees”: This study explored the relationship between cultural leisure activities, recovery experiences and two outcomes among hospital workers.

• Previous Episodes: This episode builds on concepts from past episodes. “Disconnecting from the Noise” introduces the “sanctuary chair” used for the “do nothing” practice, and “Transforming Fear” provides strategies for managing future-oriented anxiety that can interfere with being present.

Get full access to Resilience in Dark Times - Podcast at michaelglavin.substack.com/subscribe