Putting Productivity in Its Right Place
There’s a voice I’ve carried for years. It whispers, sometimes shouts: “You’re not doing enough.”
It creeps in during rest. During leisure. During the unhurried pauses of life—the very spaces I now recognize as sacred.
It says, “You’re being lazy.” Even when I’ve done more than most.
I used to believe that voice. For decades, I let it drive me. It helped me build. It helped me win. But eventually, it helped me burn out.
And then grace interrupted.
When Productivity Becomes a Burden
In my earlier years—on Wall Street, in advisory work, even in the early seasons of my own entrepreneurship—I lived by lists, goals, execution. I optimized for outcomes. I moved fast, solved problems, took pride in not wasting time.
But underneath it all was a subtle belief: my value is what I produce.
That belief is corrosive. Because when our worth is tied to what we do, we can never truly rest. There’s always more to check off. More to prove. More to fear losing.
Even as I moved into a more faith-centered life, that voice lingered. It followed me into prayer. Into Bible reading. Even into ministry. Always evaluating. Always measuring.
Until I began to ask:
What if rest isn’t weakness? What if leisure isn’t waste? What if doing less doesn’t make me less?
A New Definition of Worth
It was in the quiet—during recovery from my heart attack, in spiritual reflection, and even in seemingly mundane moments like stretching in the sauna or sitting quietly before a class—that I began to hear a different voice.
Not a voice of condemnation, but one of love.
Not “do more,” but “be still.”
I remembered that Jesus didn’t rush. He withdrew often. He walked, He wept, He noticed. He wasn’t trying to be efficient—He was fully present.
What if that is the model?
What if fruitfulness looks less like doing more and more like doing the right things, at the right time, with the right heart?
Practical Wisdom for Reframing Productivity
Here’s what I’m learning to do:
Schedule joy first. Instead of fitting rest around work, I now block joy and presence—walks, movies with friends, conversations with God.
Measure presence, not just progress. Some of my most valuable moments aren’t in what I finish—but in how I feel while doing it.
Celebrate incomplete days. Because sometimes “unfinished” means I chose health. Or presence. Or grace.
Work from rest, not for rest. Rest is not the reward. It’s the rhythm.
This isn’t a productivity hack. It’s a liberation.
When I Feel the Urge to Do More...
I now ask:
Am I acting from fear or freedom?
Is this urgency or ego?
Is this fruitfulness or frenzy?
And then I return to what I know: That my life is not a to-do list. That I am not a machine. That God doesn’t grade me on output.
He walks with me. He speaks in stillness. He delights in who I am, not what I check off.
Closing Thought
I still value productivity. I still make lists. Still track progress. Still dream.
But now, I know:
Productivity is a tool, not a tyrant. Rest is holy, not optional. And my worth is found in who I belong to—not what I accomplish.
So if today feels slow… or quiet… or “unproductive”…
Maybe, just maybe, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
