Women’s Health USA – September 2019

94 / WOMEN’S HEALTH SEPTEMBER 2019

depression and disease, but it also

commonly invites other saboteurs,

like sleeplessness and poor eating,

which make being productive even

ha rder. (A nd effic ienc y i s of ten

what folks obsessing over the min-

utes are truly concerned about—

oh, the irony.)

The Productivity Paradox

When you’re fixated on your watch,

and by association, getting enough

done, the obvious answer is to pack

i n a s m a ny ac t iv it ie s a s you c a n,

right? Not so fast. “People with this

anxiety are often the ones who

overcommit, because they think

the more they’re involved in, the

more relief they’ll get,” Chapman

says. That just makes matters

worse, he adds, “because now they

have too many things on their plate

and way fewer hours to work with.”

Oy! And what do you end up doing

as a result of overloading yourself?

Procrastinating. “You put off things

that stress you out in an attempt to

lower anxiety, but that just makes

you more anxious about the grow-

i ng lack of t i me,” he ex pla i n s.

Ty pic a l e a s e - up i nte r ve nt ion s ,

like meditation, aren’t always help-

f u l, say s D r. L icker m a n. “ When

the source of anxiety is not being

productive, focusing on the pres-

ent—on the moment you’re sitting

there, ‘doing nothing’—can make

you feel meaningless.” And the

more you fret about time, the more

paralyzed you’ll feel.

Dismantle the Time Bomb

So, what can you do? The cure is

twofold. First, you need to train

yourself to let go of your obsession

with not having enough minutes or

days. You can do this by dropping

“catastrophic” thoughts, like I never

have e nough t ime to X, or I don’t

have t ime to do Y, which create a

sense of terror in the body, Chapman

says. Replace them with realistic,

upbeat affirmations that you can

whip out when your brain gets

overwhelmed, such as I have time

for only one thing, but I’ll do it well.

Then realize that watching the

hours go by isn’t as detrimental as

it seems. Start by letting go of the

idea of wasted time: “Attach a pur-

pose to every activity you are doing,

even if it feels like ‘nothing,’ ” says

Dr. Lickerman. If you’re spending

Friday night Netflixing in bed,

you’re resetting your brain after a

crazy week, which will help you

own your Monday. Standing in line

at the grocery store? You’re think-

ing ahead about a week of dinners

with your partner, or calling your

mom for a catchup. Once you re-

frame your perspective, make a

note of even the tiniest takeaways

every night (like in a gratitude jour-

nal, if you want). “Rarely do you go

through a 24-hour period when

you don’t move the needle in some

way,” says Dr. Lickerman. On one

d ay, t hat m ig ht be cr u sh i ng you r

workout; on another, it’s just put-

ting away the clean laundry. Every

win counts.

Another fun mental exercise?

“Bu l ly t i me,” a s C hapm a n de scr ibe s

it. “Be late to an event when you

won’t get fired for it and see how

not-scary the consequences can

be,” he says. Confronting your fear

helps you feel in control of it.

That’s exactly what I did for my

last date: I cut my two-hour prep al-

lot ment dow n to 30 m i nute s, wh ich

made me get ready in 20 (shorter

period = faster decision-making).

And guess what? I was seven min-

utes late but totally calm. And

it was the best time I’ve ever had.

This phenomenon—the Fear of Not Doing—is when you feel guilty for spend-

ing free moments not being productive (e.g., napping instead of running

errands). Fix your ’tude by acknowledging that relaxing is a feat too.

FOND