Pathological Productivity and the Fear of Stillness
I was listening to Judith Joseph, a psychiatrist on the Slight Change of Plans podcast speaking about pathological productivity. The compulsion to keep doing, fixing, producing.
It hit home. Because I realised I have it too.
I’ve built a lifestyle designed to reduce stress. No meetings before 10am. Done with work by 4pm. Meal planning and grocery delivery sorted. Gym is a 4 minute walk away. Kids in a good space. The kind of scaffolding that keeps life steady, calm, clear and as frictionless as possible. Stress is my kryptonite, so I’ve worked hard to avoid it.
And yet when things are calm, I find myself uneasy.
After the house is clean, the work is done, the exercise finished, the meals prepped… there’s a lull. Space. Quiet. Time to stop and breathe. Life is good, right?
But I get restless. Antsy. At sea. My brain starts searching for something to solve, a project to sink into, a problem to fix. Stillness feels uncomfortable.
This is what hustle culture leaves us with: even when we create space, we don’t know how to sit in it.
Instead, we fill it. Scroll the phone. Turn on a podcast. Pick up a book. Anything to occupy the mind. What we don’t do often enough is… Nothing.
Just being.
And that’s the part that freaks us out.
Because surrender is harder than striving. Letting things unfold without force feels unnatural when you’ve been trained to equate doing with worth.
I’ve simplified my life in all the obvious ways. But the harder work is deconditioning the compulsion to strive. Finding the balance between ambition and presence. Between doing and being.
And if you have an active mind, one that tips easily into overthinking then you’ll know how hard that balance can be.
So what helps?
Name it. When you feel that restless itch to do, pause and say to yourself, this is the productivity reflex, not a real need.
Practice micro-stillness. Start with 2–3 minutes. Sit without input—no phone, no book, no noise. Notice the urge to fill the gap, and let it pass.
Redirect, don’t suppress. Instead of launching into a project, choose something grounding but simple—water a plant, stretch, breathe.
Redefine “productive.” Time spent resting your nervous system is as valuable as time spent ticking boxes.
And if all else fails go and have a nap. Sleep is such an underrated tool for rest, restoration, healing and recharging.
Stillness doesn’t come naturally for many of us. But learning to tolerate it, then value it is the counterweight to pathological productivity.
Because the real work isn’t filling the quiet. It’s learning to live inside it.
