THE NEWER GENERATIONS ARE FIGHTING TOXIC PRODUCTIVITY: HERE'S HOW

By Eloisa Milet

It's no revolutionary news that we, as a society, have become obsessed with productivity. As advocates of a much chiller, peaceful life do not fail to point, the toxic and detrimental way we view work, success, and happiness is concerningly deturpated. We grew accustomed to subconsciously relating work to an overwhelming 9-5 job; success to being envied and feared and, most importantly and unfortunate, happiness to having an unthinkable amount of money and purchasing unnecessary objects and treatments.

Our obsession with productivity is said to have its roots in the Bourgeois Era, a period in history that shifted the way we think about work, comfort, unemployment, and basically anything regarding our work and income. It is a consensus between... well, mostly my brain cells, but also quite a few researchers, that not only the Bourgeois Revaluation but also the Industrial Revolution, the upcoming of two world wars, and the implementation of capitalism in most of the civilized nations on the planet are factors that have directly shaped the way our minds reacted when faced with questions regarding our definitions of a fulfilled life. 

As propaganda spread like a wildfire across the globe and we began to have more and more 'successful' people displayed on the media, we seemingly can not stop trying to find ways to get more things done in the least amount of time possible. This has brought many people and families to a much more comfortable and stable life, of course, since “hard work pays off"; but has also taken a toll on our mental health and relationships with the ones around us. Dena M. DiNardo, Psy.D., says that the desire to turn everything into a hyper-productive routine can make us feel like our skills are merely income tools, leaving us depressed, guilty, and agitated when we work a little less than a machine. These intricate notions around work and productivity are hard to overcome, but the latest generations such as the Millennials and Generation Z are fighting back with a seemingly powerful weapon: slow living.

Slow living can be defined as the act of living a more relaxed, chill life without the burden of needing to fill every second of the day with work and other tasks. Adepts of this lifestyle usually are people who have been damaged by society’s hustle culture and now want to start over with a healthier mindset, taking better care of themselves and ignoring what the mass says.

‘But how do you practice slow living in real life?’, you might ask. Well, it does inspire doubts. After all, we have been raised with the mentality of studying very hard to graduate from school, then going to college and studying very hard again, so that we would be able to… work really hard for the rest of our lives. How can we live slowly and peacefully, then, with this point of view craved so deep onto our brains?

Well, there’s good news: those who advocate for this lifestyle claim that you don’t have to become a monk and live up in the mountains to live slowly. Small actions such as being present in the moment and not hurrying all the time; appreciating nature and its wonders; finding a more tech-free life and having a few rituals with yourself, such as meditating and lighting candles, can already help slow down your life and bring some peace into it. 

Of course, living this way in the middle of the XXI century rush will come along with some hardships, if you are considering giving slow living a try. Friends will question you, your family probably won’t support the idea, and chances are that your social circle will become much smaller; as it is from the beginning of the times, getting through life the way you want can be challenging and tough. People are taken aback by what they do not understand. But in the age of questioning and speaking up about what you believe, is it going to stop you at all from getting the grip of your future and walking towards it slowly, but confidently?