A week or so back, I shared a collection of photos on my own social media page of my horses, and a few “between the ears” shots of rides from that day. One of my friends asked how I managed to keep four horses in work, and I replied that on that particular morning, I’d worked things out so by 10:30 am, everyone had been worked and tended to.
Nothing about what I said here was untrue, and yet later that day I was thinking about the conversation and felt a little uneasy.
Why?
Well, the idea of productivity and “getting things done” is something we so easily beat ourselves up about- especially when we start comparing ourselves to other people and feel like we’re coming up short.
I consider myself to be a pretty productive person on the whole. My days are full and I have a lot of plates spinning at the same time. I have a handful of horses in work, my own business, two young children, a husband I love to spend time with and yet, just like everyone else, I have days where I think, I have no idea what I did today.
And whilst I can’t speak for anyone else that you might compare yourself to to see how well you are doing on the productivity scale, I can speak for myself and say…
- I have days where I faff around and know that the only reason I didn’t get out to ride was because I didn’t manage to get myself organized in time
- I have days where I wish not to adult.
- I have moments where I find myself scrolling social media and then next minute, I’m watching some random clip of a dog in Thailand peddling a unicycle that goes for just under ten minutes whilst only moments earlier I complained to my husband that there isn’t enough time in the day
How much you get done the day does not in any way give you a higher ranking on the “better human being” scale. It’s such an insidious premise, and one that I personally would like to do away with.
You can be a “productive person” and still:
- Whittle the time away on something that would most likely be classified as having no productive purpose
- Throw yourself down on the couch and watch the entire new season of Afterlife in one sitting (this might just be a note to self)
- Not get everything done on your to do list (like, ever)
- Not get all the things done all the time and all the horses worked every day
It’s ok. It really is.
We just have to wake up, meet the moment, and do what’s possible within it.
Onwards.
❤️ Jane
