Are you being productive…or crazy?

I am one of those people that lives to be productive. At times, I think it is just part of my German heritage, and at other times, I think it is my socially acceptable neurosis. (Taken to the extreme it’s probably the latter). Yet what I have noticed in recent years is that my definition of productivity has changed. I no longer believe it is related to numbers and accolades but to the quality of my relationships and a sense of well-being. Thus, if I’m being productive I am working out in the mornings, planning to spend time with family and friends, and exercising my mind in areas that make me feel truly competent. The net of this kind of productivity is a happier life.

To my amusement, in the era of my new definition of productivity the income has not changed much, nor have the accolades. They are now the by-products, instead of the goals. I wish I would have figured this one out long ago. Perhaps I could have saved myself a few fine lines, or nurtured a treasured relationship much sooner.