TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The pandemic has forced many of us to limit our physical contact with other people and constrained most of us in the confines of our homes. However, many feel that such a prolonged situation has made them stuck in a toxic productivity routine.

Citing a statement from the Airlangga University (Unair) website, lecturer of psychology dr. Erikavitri Yulianti Sp. KJ (K) shared ways to avoid toxic productivity, which she warned was the gateway to experiencing burnout and could potentially harm your relationship with others.

Toxic productivity can be defined as essentially an unhealthy desire to be productive at all times, at all costs. It can also be described as the need to go the “extra mile” at work or at home, even when it's not expected of you.

In the context of the pandemic, the professional psychiatrist explained that the cause of this is the sudden change in our daily routines caused by health restrictions. “We are actually not comfortable. We fear uncertainty amid the pandemic, which leads us to toxic productivity that gives us the sense of security to overcome our fear,” she wrote.

Signs of someone undergoing this phenomenon is often feeling guilty, being inefficient in conducting work, and demanding to do many tasks even though there are no more things to do. Another sign you are suffering from this is feeling fatigued in the morning despite having enough sleep.

To overcome this, dr. Erikavitri suggested that people should better manage their time and understand their individual biorhythm, set a benchmark to evaluate their work, set priority scales, conduct stress management, reward themselves, and be flexible.

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AMELIA RAHIMA SARI