I think good stress/bad stress is a valid distinction but it might be helpful if we train ourselves to use different terms. E.g., good stress = stimulus/incentive/inspiration, bad stress = pressure/demand/judgement.

Good stress is when I have a costume project with a deadline. I have an incentive (to look good in the costume) and a stimulus (the deadline) and an inspiration (what I want to create). Bad stress is when I have two equal and opposite demands on my time, no choice about when the demands must be satisfied, no reward for the outcome (i.e. it’s my job to do it), and usually the cherry on top of an equipment failure.

Unless you’ve taken up knitting to sell your wares, why even think of it in terms of production value? You aren’t really working on your productivity — you’re kanoodling around with yarn. I’m having an issue with calling that a production activity.

Why are we equating activities done for pleasure with activities where what you produce matters? On the job, productivity matters. Things you do for money — productivity matters. Other things you do to avoid negative consequences — I’m thinking laundry or cooking supper for your kids — productivity matters.

Things you do because it’s Thursday night and you’re bored out of your skull — not so much.

Ultimately, I think we’re overly obsessed with productivity in our culture. I aim to have quality down time, where I don’t have to worry about producing anything of consequence at all. And a lot of it.

For the interested, I recommend Thorstein Veblen’s “Theory of the Leisure Class”.

I agree that there are “good” forms and “bad” types of stress and the purpose of this article is to have people find ways to use “good” stress to improve their productivity.

Of course most human beings want to have some sort of productive activity in order to feel useful. But not everyone wants to be at peak productivity all the time. You love your work and need a sustained productivity rhythm. Fine. Others prefer to work at a slower pace and have more time for leisure, hobbies, introspection, etc. There is no need to jump to extremes, or make value judgements about either work style. I second L.’s point re: “hot-cold empathy gap”.

Erin – I think your point about loving your work illustrates this. I would argue that your work is an example of a manageable stress (therefore “good” stress).

I wouldn’t tolerate this if I had not already been in several other careers before this and not found anything close to the satisfaction I get from teaching. It’s still a killer.

Simple Experiment: Tell some1 they only have 3 days to do something that would normally take a week!

I welcome good stress any day. When the bad stress gets a foot hold, i take a long deep breath, jot down those items bothering me, ask for more help to accomplish those items that are creating this stress.

As the ‘stress’ goes, I remind myself to breath and KNOW it will all be just fine.

You may suffer from “hot-cold empathy gap.” When we are hot, we can’t imagine ever feeling under-dressed. When we are cold, we can’t imagine ever feeling overheated. Similarly because you apparently crave increased productivity and output, you may feel that other people also crave it and/or you can’t imagine a time when you won’t feel that way. Yet that time may come and those people may exist. I have spent so many years working so hard that for one time in my life I don’t actually crave more output, more productivity. I just want to squeeze a little more mindful, delightful living into these years.

Most human beings crave industriousness. We like to create things — products, services, ideas — and feel restless when we aren’t making things. Knitting, for example, has become popular over the past decade because so many people miss the tactile experience of creating something tangible. Saying that humans shouldn’t be encouraged to be more productive is like saying that humans shouldn’t be human.

The goal is to do a job that you love in as productive of a manner as possible and have the rest of your time to pursue your other interests. If any part of your day is spent doing something you hate or don’t want to do better, it is time to find a new career.

Thanks for this post!