Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. And today, I'm giving you a little peek behind the

curtain at one of my own struggles. It's with something I've now diagnosed as toxic

productivity. And now that I have a name for it, I feel like I'm seeing it everywhere. So if you

suspect that you may be battling the same, let's talk about

what toxic productivity is and how I've started to move beyond it. One step at a time.

I recently read a blog post by Scott Miniman, which says, the beautiful thing about helping others

is that you don't have to be an expert. No, instead you only have to be

a little further along than the person you're assisting. Generally, I like to show up for you as the

expert, but sometimes my expertise comes from my own seat on the struggle bus, maybe just a row

or two ahead of where you're sitting. Today's going to be one of those days. I've always

prided myself on my productivity. I'm a go-getter, an overachiever. I was literally voted teacher's

pet in my high school. And yes, there is a photo. But in the past couple years, I've noted that

my drive to achieve has started to feel more like a need,

a compulsion. It's as if being busy is the thing, rather than the means to a purposeful outcome.

In trying to better understand my own experience, I encountered the idea of toxic productivity.

It feels like me, and I've made some strides toward overcoming it, and my goal today is to share

some actionable insights I've picked up and put into practice along the way. In trying to better

understand my own experience, I encountered the idea of toxic productivity. It feels like me,

and I've made some strides toward overcoming it.

My goal today is to share some actionable insights I've picked up and put into practice along the way.

So let's start with a definition.

What is toxic productivity?

...