I Didn't Do the Thing Today: Letting Go of Productivity Guilt

by Madeleine Dore

It’s unrealistic to think we can be doing the important or fulfilling thing all the time. Sometimes we need to do a bit more thinking, planning, and absorbing to make the juice worth the squeeze. Equally, the squeeze—the radiant action and the times we are in flow—gives what we have absorbed its meaning. It’s where we put what we’ve learned into action, where we turn thinking into writing, study into knowledge, fresh produce into recipes, and solitude into a deeper connection to ourselves and to others. Just as we need to honor the absorb phase, we also need the well-timed squeeze. It makes sense that we might linger in the absorb phase when we face adversity, uncertainty, or exhaustion. We are protecting ourselves. Yet there are also times when we can become saturated with planning, overthinking, and even researching, to the point of inertia. We resist the squeeze we’ve been preparing for and forget that some things don’t need to be overthought. Knowing the difference between needing the absorb and needing the squeeze can be like a dance. Sometimes when I’m stuck and can’t figure out what action to take next, I ask myself whether I need to absorb or whether I need to squeeze.