The Demonisation of rest. Why you feel guilty for doing less and what to do about it.

#2 Anti-productivity. The power of cultural technology

As a young boy I fell in love with writing.

It was an escape for me.

A way to conjure up entire worlds in a way that TV or film could never do.

It was a struggle to start but once I found my flow it was difficult to stop.

As I grew older I felt the pressure to succeed. I wanted to have something to show for my efforts.

Published articles. Book deals. My name on the cover. I put everything into writing.

I was unyielding. I treated myself cruelly. I never took breaks.

I would feel an uncomfortable sense of unease when I was not working towards my goals.

Guilt, shame and blame became daily practices to get my work done.

In the space of a few years I transformed my love of writing into a bitter hatred.

I grew to loathe the creative process. I couldn’t come up with ideas. I had writers block for weeks. I came to dread the act itself.

Now 15 years later I feel like I am on the cusp of reviving my destroyed passion and I’m here to tell you that we’ve got productivity all wrong.

In this letter we are going to learn why you feel guilty for taking breaks. How to change this internal state. And how to actually use breaks as an effective strategy to get more done while feeling better about yourself.

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I hold myself fully responsible for corrupting my own passion and yet I can’t help but think that I am not alone in this.

So many people are either trying to find themselves or loose themselves in their work.

Why we tie our sense of identity to achievement

Western society has demonised rest.

Every individual has their own issues but I want you to understand just how much of your own beliefs, emotions and feelings are leeched into you through culture.

Culture is a technology that has been shaping the destiny of humanity for millennia. Once you are aware of this it’s much easier to understand your own motivations, feelings and desires.

The Protestant Work Ethic and the Birth of Guilt

The roots of our guilt over rest can be traced back to the Protestant work ethic.

Even though you might not be religious yourself the culture which you have grown up in is built upon values and morals taken from religions which have been developed over 1000’s of years.

Protestantism instilled in western society the belief that hard work and discipline were moral imperatives.

In this worldview, idleness became a sin, and rest was equated with moral failure.

Success was seen as evidence of one’s favour with God. Failure—or even just stopping to rest—was viewed as sinful.

Religions grow change and die. But humans need meaning and the underlying ethos persists.

Western society continues to associate work with moral virtue, while rest and leisure are seen as superfluous indulgences.

It took me a long time to come to terms with this. I felt like this pressure to achieve was self inflicted.

I thought I had this in-built mechanism that made me feel guilty every time I took a break.

Guilt, shame and blame made up the three pillars of my own triangulated personal purgatory.

Even though the gates of hell were open and I was free to leave at any time I didn’t. If you’ve spent years in triangulated purgatory it may take years of work to get out.

I have since learned that this is, at least to a large degree, external. It is the cultural reality of our time.

Once you realise this you can begin to take conscious steps to walk out of hell and never look back.

It was not always like this.

The ancient greeks saw it differently. In ancient Greece leisure σχολή (scholē) was considered to be the norm and work ἔργον (ergon) was a less desirable interruption of leisure.

So for them “leisure” did not mean being idle but was dedicated to intellectual pursuits and self improvement.

In fact the greek word for leisure - scholē is the root of the English word "school," which reflects its original association with intellectual growth and learning.

If work is not the obsessive focus of your life then you don’t feel the need to escape from it.

In the UK, where I grew up, we have things called “leisure centres”. These typically include sports facilities such as football grounds, basketball courts, swimming pools and game rooms.

Leisure is not about doing nothing. It’s about active play. It’s about intellectual curiosity. It’s about social nourishment.

“Deliberate rest” or “leisure” allows the brain to engage in “diffuse mode thinking”. While we’re actively working, our brains are in “focused mode”, tackling specific tasks.

But in diffuse mode, the mind is free to wander, make creative connections, and synthesise ideas, leading to more “aha” moments and original insights.

If you never relax and transition into diffuse mode thinking you will struggle to solve problems in your life.

One of the reasons I grew to hate writing was because of the energy with which I approached it.

From the beginning it was a forced coercive energy, and so even though I achieved significant output, that came at a personal cost.

Capitalism and the Commodification of Time

This is a very nuanced point. I am not anti capitalist per se but we still need to address the role of capitalism in fuelling the obsession with productivity.

The rise of capitalism has played a significant role in demonising rest. In a system where time equals money, the notion of "wasting" time is almost taboo.

Now of course it depends how far back you want to go.

Capitalism and industrialisation brought huge benefits to society. But with every advancement, whether on a societal or personal level, unique problems are revealed.

Problems which to your younger self might seem more like successes.

In capitalist cultures rest is not just seen as a lack of productivity, but a financial loss.

With the current state of the economy and growing instability workers today are often in a constant state of hustle, juggling multiple jobs or side gigs, leaving little room for rest without guilt.

*And btw Solopreneurs and internet marketers are actually more susceptible to this than employees. Their own survival is inextricably wound up in their own personal productivity.*

The capitalist economy thrives on the commodification of human time, leading individuals to internalise the idea that any time not spent working is inherently wasteful.

Most young people these days don’t have hobbies anymore. They have side hustles.

The relentless push for efficiency and the extraction of maximum value from every minute has distorted our relationship with time.

In 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep, Jonathan Crary argues that late capitalism has created a society in which even sleep—the most basic form of rest—is under threat.

In a world where technology has eradicated natural boundaries between work and leisure, we are expected to be perpetually available, making rest not only difficult but guilt-inducing.

The Role of Technology and the “Always-On” Culture

Technology has exacerbated these pressures, blurring the boundaries between work and rest.

The rise of smartphones, email, and instant messaging means that you are never truly off the clock.

The "always-on" culture encourages us to be constantly connected, always reachable, and perpetually productive.

Why are there hundreds if not thousands of articles out there talking about the benefits of leaving your phone outside your bedroom, turning off notifications, having digital detoxes?

When there is no clear boundary between work time and rest time, the latter becomes tainted with guilt, as if any moment not spent working is an opportunity lost…and in this context I associate social media with work, not leisure.

The worst place you can find yourself in is thinking about rest while working and thinking about work while resting.

So now that we are aware of this what can we do about it?

The demonisation of rest represents a sickness in modern western society, one that prioritises productivity over well-being.

Rest has become stigmatised, not because it is unimportant, but because it stands in direct opposition to the capitalist demand for endless growth and efficiency.

The irony is that we become more productive when we take more breaks and exert less effort in trying to force things to work.

Unlike machines our productivity declines when we are overworked and not rested.

Progress that comes at the expense of self worth, mental health and well-being is a distortion of values.

That’s like equating profit with revenue.

If you make 1 million dollars in revenue but that revenue cost 1.1 million dollars to generate that’s not progress that’s decline.

Rest is not a luxury, nor is it something to feel guilty about. It is a fundamental human need, essential for creativity, well-being, and long-term productivity.

Here are a few easy steps you can implement to damn the river of toxic productivity culture.

1. Decouple the relationship between time and productivity.

This newsletter is called the 2Hour creator stack for a reason. I created this newsletter to help busy professionals who have full time jobs and a limited amount of time to work on their creative side projects.

Productivity is no longer about time. It is about the quality of your decisions and where you choose to place your focus.

Limiting your creative work by time constraints has an array of advantages. It’s action biased. Idea focused. It mitigates burnout. Prioritises well-being and the quality of your ideas to name but a few.

2. Get comfortable with rejection.

Everyone talks about how to deal with rejection. But only from the pov of the “victim” not the “initiator”.

In the modern world, in order to keep your sanity and critical thinking you have to develop your resilience when it comes to rejection.

Saying no is a form of rejection. Too many people are utterly exhausted and burnt out, not just at work, but also socially because they don’t know how to say no.

They don’t know how to reject attention. They would rather just let a relationship fizzle out than have an upfront confrontation to nip it in the bud.

Saying no makes them feel uncomfortable. It reminds them that they are still well and truly in triangulated purgatory.

If a friend asks them to go to dinner and they don’t feel like it. They can’t just say “no” because this brings up feelings of guilt, shame and blame.

This is something which I have really struggled with for a long time. With good friends I can now just say “no” without coming up with an excuse.

With work related stuff I simply just say. “I’m sorry I can’t make it”. No elaboration. No excuses. No blame. Just a simple “no”.

I challenge you to try this and to sit with (not try to deal with) the emotional turmoil that may ensue.

3. Set yourself achievable goals

Set yourself achievable goals. When you reach them celebrate the milestone.

There is nothing more demotivating than working towards a goal only to change the goal posts just as you’ve achieved it. ( a 100 500 1000 10,000 subscribers)

The fastest way to break a company is to constantly keep changing the definitions of success.

If you set your team goals and keep changing them every month this is a rapid way to create a toxic culture that will bring the company to its knees.

Physical self flagellation is a relic from past religions.

Why do you think mental self flagellation is still a good idea?

4. Build periods of rest into your day

I walk to work. Even though it would be quicker for me to drive, cycle or take public transport. My walk to work is sacred. This is a part of my rest routine.

I watch Netflix in the evening, and I have zero guilt. Sometimes after a 10 hour day at work followed by a dinner you just need to shut off and unwind. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Everyone relaxes in different ways. If you enjoy playing video games or watching TV to unwind do it, and do it with pride.

5. Recognise the natural cycles of progress and accept who you are.

Development does not occur in a linear progression. Not everyone is the same.

If this letter resonated with you it might mean that you are a type A personality. The majority of productivity advice and modern culture seems to be speaking directly to type B personalities.

Yes! There are people who just need to get their act together. Even making their bed and cleaning up their room would be a win.

Maybe a crazed David goggings type character screaming at them to take action is what they really need.

But I’m guessing that if you’re reading this you’ve got that down to a T. You’re conscientious, you’re driven, you’re a high achiever. Which also means you’re prone to stress, overwork and burnout.

If you’re anything like me then taking a step back and integrating regular breaks is a necessity. Not just for your productivity and fulfilment but also for general longevity and sustainability.

Thank you for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Benjamin