The Stress of “Getting Things Done”

Some of us internalize stress. We hold onto it in certain portions of our bodies. Some hold stress in their chest, their heart region. Some in their upper back, their neck and shoulders. Some in their bowels. It seems that for every chakra system there is someone, somewhere, using the nerve plexuses that are associated with chakras as a "stress holding center."

When stressful events/tasks in life feel overwhelming we are accumulating chaotic stress rather than orderly productivity. When things feel busy or chaotically mentally noisy, we make productivity lists to restore order, which is calming. Productivity procedures are not merely just to “get more done.” We do it because it is stress relieving. 

The pull toward productivity lists, plans, and routines comes from something a little more inherent: a need for things to feel contained. When things feel unsteady, and you still have everything floating around in your head, your brain (and your nervous system) never really gets to switch off to let go of the stress.

Wanting order is a completely reasonable response to having a full life. A task list doesn’t mean you’re trying to control everything. It just means you’re choosing not to internally carry everything around all the time.

Sometimes productivity gets framed as negative ambition. A desire to do more, optimize, achieve, and squeeze extra output from our already full days. And sure, sometimes that’s true. But it’s certainly not the whole story. Sometimes productivity procedures are a way to externalize internal stressors to relieve the pressure on the nervous system.

No, we can’t control everything that’s going on in the world around us. But sometimes that small, simple sense of control in our own lives is exactly what we need to keep moving onwards towards bringing contained order to seemingly uncontained chaos.

Give your "stressed chakras" a break and find some productivity techniques that work for you.  Keep stressful chaos out of your nervous system and externalize it onto paper, computer, or some other source of organization that helps you to release the stress of getting things done.

Inspired by Naomi from Todoist:  https://substack.com/@todoist