Breaking the cycle of overdoing and learning how to rest without guilt.
For over a decade, I wore all the hats.
I was a full-time entrepreneur, building a physical business, running my household, raising kids, and constantly keeping things moving. I had taught myself to fill every moment. If there was time, I found something to do. If I wasn’t producing, I felt like I was wasting potential.
“At first, it felt like discipline. Then, it started to feel like survival.”
But when I transitioned from full-time entrepreneurship to pursuing a career as a teacher, something unexpected happened. I suddenly had more time. My kids were older now. I wasn’t chasing toddlers or running on four hours of sleep. And instead of relief, I felt… unsettled.
I didn’t know how to sit still. I had been programmed to overfunction.
That’s when I met toxic productivity face-to-face. And I realized how deeply it had shaped not just my schedule, but my self-worth.
The Entrepreneur Trap: Productivity as Identity
For many years, my entire identity was built around being the one who “gets things done.”
I was the go-to person. The strong friend. The one who always had a plan.
Entrepreneurship amplified that in me. Because when you run your own business, there’s always something to do. Always something to fix, market, sell, or ship.
I didn’t realize I had started to fear stillness.
I feared what I would hear in the quiet.
Because when you’re always doing, you don’t have to feel.
Transitioning to Teaching: Confronting the Space I Prayed For
When I decided to pursue teaching, I was craving more structure, alignment, and purpose. But I didn’t anticipate the emotional detox that would follow.
For the first time in years, I had margin in my life.
There were moments in my day when no one needed me. No fires to put out. No inbox yelling for my attention.
And I had to ask myself:
Why do I feel guilty for breathing?
That’s when I started reworking my definition of value.
Not what did I accomplish today?
But how did I take care of myself today?
How did I show up in alignment with who I want to become?
How I’m Reclaiming My Rhythm
Here’s what’s helping me loosen toxic productivity’s grip on my life:
- Creating rhythms, not rigid routines. I leave space in my day for breathing, reflecting, or even doing nothing. And I protect it.
- Checking in with my body. If I’m tired, I rest. If I’m anxious, I journal. I don’t force myself to produce just to feel worthy.
- Rewriting my inner language. Instead of “I need to do more,” I say “I’m doing enough.”
- Letting joy be productive. Coloring with my kids, tending to my plants, or lighting a candle just because — that counts.
Signs Your Productivity Might Be Turning Toxic:You’re always busy, but rarely feel fulfilled
We often celebrate productivity as the gold standard of success—but what happens when getting things done starts to drain rather than energize you? Toxic productivity can sneak in quietly, disguised as ambition or discipline, until burnout becomes your baseline. If you’ve been feeling exhausted, disconnected, or like you’re never doing enough, you’re not alone. Here are some signs that your drive to be productive might be crossing into toxic territory:
You feel guilty when you rest
Your self-worth feels tied to how much you accomplish
You skip meals, breaks, or sleep to stay “on top of things”
You struggle to celebrate progress because you’re already focused on the next task
You feel behind even when you’re being productive
Breaks feel like laziness or failure
Stillness makes you anxious or uncomfortable
Final Thoughts
I used to teach strategy. Now, I teach capacity.
As a future educator and as someone who has coached others through burnout, I want to be the voice that says:
Rest is not weakness. Stillness is not waste. Softness is not surrender.
Toxic productivity told me to fill every moment.
Wisdom tells me to feel every moment instead.
And that’s the shift I’m making – slowly, gently, on purpose.
You are not a machine.
You are not lazy for needing rest.
You do not have to earn your right to breathe deeply and exist without a task attached to your worth.
Whether you’re a mom, a creative, an entrepreneur, or all three – your value does not come from how busy you are.
It comes from how well you love, how well you live, and how much of yourself you get to keep.
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