I’ve heard there is a whole genre of influencers who do productivity videos. They have every second of their day timed to get the most done. I have not watched them because just thinking about it exhausts me. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a hard worker. Two days a week I work 12 hours, and I only have one day that is truly a non-work day…unless a concert gets scheduled that day. What turns me off about the productivity videos is the optimization. I understand the importance of efficiency, but there is also…importance in…drifting.
A few years ago there was a push to get Maladaptive Daydreaming categorized as a mental illness. I don’t know if it happened or not, but I think most writers must have it. Maladaptive Daydream is when you get lost in imaginary worlds sometimes to the detriment of daily life. Of course it’s not a detriment if you can turn it into big bucks. Otherwise, maybe you have a mental illness. I embrace it though. Sometimes bedtime is the best time because I can just let my mind wander. I’ve decided it’s my brain’s way of sorting events, even if I’m not thinking directly about the events.
Today was a half-day of work for me, and then I was productive by getting bills paid and emails sent and the kitchen cleaned. I had planned more ways to be productive like sketching out a week’s worth of blogs and rewriting some chapters. Instead, my brain needed to drift and daydream. And I’m okay with that.
Evelyn Aster 