Noticing The Pressure

Maybe it’s the heat, or maybe it’s the pace of life, but whatever the cause, I don’t feel the pressure out here as much as I do at home.

Production anxiety is something I’ve always struggled with. I’ve been restless my whole life, unable to chill out until I know I’ve done enough work to earn some time off. Learning to mitigate its effect has been difficult but for whatever reason, in Spain this anxiety to be productive isn’t intense. I’m not sure why that is.

And it’s not that I’m being unproductive, but rather, I don’t feel under pressure to be productive. I don’t feel that I have to spend every waking moment trying to work. Now I make more time to hang out with friends and relax.

When it does eventually become time to work, I’m at ease and looking forward to writing something down. In ways, the lack of pressure makes me more productive, because each minute of work is a minute sought after. It’s not forced.

I think that maybe there’s a negative relationship with productivity in Ireland. We focus too much on work, far more than we do on life. I think here, in Spain, life is the main focus. And this is the key difference – the pressure to be productive is a result of a society that demands productivity.

So now, as I find myself in a more laid back city, where people work to live, the pressure has lessened. I don’t feel bad for not doing X amount of work every day.

I think what I’m trying to say here is that if you feel under constant pressure to be productive, you ought to ask yourself why. Because it might be as a result of the culture you live in, and that’s something you’ll need to correct for.

Be good,

Daragh