Productivity

I am often frustrated by how difficult it can be to be productive. I grew up in and live in a culture with a significant emphasis on productivity, working, and careers. This history and structure can be useful when it comes to being productive along well-trodden paths of productivity, but it holds many pitfalls. It can be a challenge to construct a definition of self-worth which does not have productivity as a prerequisite. Similarly, being productive in a way which does not fit within established productivity tradition can feel like a failure and be viewed externally as one.

But first, what is productivity? To be productive means to spend one's time working on something worthwhile.

In this context, something "worthwhile" generally means something which generates financial value, or makes it easier to do so in future. Studying economics, medicine, computer science, maths, or physics is productive. Studying fine art, philosophy, or gender studies is not (according to this definition of worthwhile).

Learning an instrument is productive, if you could feasibly monetise your musical skill at some point in the future as a result of this learning. Similarly, "side-projects" have value when they could feasibly become "side-hustles".

This leads to a questionable heirarchy of societal respect. Where social value is defined by visible financial value, attributes of social value which either do not create financial value or which do so indirectly are often ignored, along with the costs of actions which do generate financial value.