All of us have phrases that get under our skin. One of mine is the phrase “make time for yourself.”
It’s usually said with kind intentions, by a friend who notices I’m stressed and overwhelmed at a particular moment (like, say, mid-November). They’re looking out for me and suggesting I allow time for self-care – but come on, “make time for myself”? If only! Putting aside the impossibility of “making time”, what am I supposed to make it out of? And if I can magically make time for myself appear, where am I supposed to put it? I already don’t have enough hours in the day to fulfill all my obligations, so it feels impossible to squeeze in a little “me time.”
I am no expert on taking care of one’s self during periods of stress. In fact, I’m pretty awful at it. I take on too much, get easily overwhelmed and push too hard. Worse, when I have a lot to do I try to work on multiple projects at once, which adds to the feeling of overload and doesn’t actually make me any more effective. One thing I do know is that when one has a full plate, the solution is not to add yet another task like “make time for yourself.” If something is going to be added, then we have to push something else to the side – or completely off – that full plate.
A friend recently introduced me to the concept of “pseudo-productivity.” The idea, developed by computer science professor Cal Newport, is that workplace culture prioritizes “busy-ness” as a measure of someone’s worth and productivity. We answer emails right away, we attend hours of meetings, we complete a laundry list of tasks and we look (and perhaps feel) productive. In reality, however, we are devoting so much time and energy to small, concrete tasks that there isn’t much left over for the deeper, reflective and creative parts of our jobs (the parts most of us would rather be doing!) As writer Katie Rossiensky explains, “It’s a shallow form of efficiency, the opposite of the ‘deep’, focused work mindset that’s required to complete more complex or creative projects.”
When I emailed my friend to learn more about pseudo-productivity, I received the following automated reply:
During the academic year, I read and respond to email once daily, Monday - Friday. In our age of pseudo-productivity (Newport, 2024), I invite you to join me as a knowledge worker who makes time for "deep work" (Newport, 2016). May we use our time wisely so our careers are expert, joyful, meaningful, and sustainable. I'll be in touch soon.
I recognize that not all of us have jobs where we can respond to email once a day. But I do think it’s worth looking for places where we can set boundaries on the small, “busy work” tasks that take up such a huge portion of our day. To give a very basic example, I’ve found it helpful to block out time to make all my copies for the week at once, update all of my Canvas spaces at once, etc. rather than jumping from one task to another each day. I find that makes each task more manageable, and I’m sure I waste less time pivoting from one thing to another.
The idea of pseudo-productivity is also useful when considering the way we teach and assess students. I’ve been thinking a lot about the language we use to describe teaching and learning, and the connotations of that language. (For instance, when we write comments on student work are we “grading”? Are we “giving feedback”? Are we “correcting”?) One of the primary registers we use to describe what happens in school is the language of work. Students need to “do their work,” a student “did a good job,” students who are failing often aren’t “keeping up with the work,” etc. Obviously, we want our students to work hard, and hard work is a component of learning, but learning and working are not the same activity. Much as we want to prepare students for careers, a classroom is not the same as a workplace. (For one thing, employees get paid to be at their workplace!) In the workplace, the goal of work is usually productivity. But while students might produce documents for us, production is not the goal – learning is.
It’s a mistake to equate quantity of work with academic rigor. Again, learning takes a lot of effort, but I’ve observed many classes over the years where students are asked to do tasks that are very time-consuming, but not intellectually rigorous. The quality of learning and thinking is what we’re after, and that quality is not necessarily connected to the number of assignments students complete, the number of pages they read, or how long their homework takes them. Bloom Taxonomy’s can be a useful tool in prioritizing the assignments we give. How can we focus more of our assignments on higher-order thinking, and ask students to spend less time on recall and memorization?
To be clear, I’m not suggesting we assign less work for the sake of it. I’m suggesting we take a hard look at what we’re asking students to do and why, and to help students focus on a smaller number of deep learning experiences, rather than making sure they are consistently busy or have a certain amount of homework. Just like us, students are less effective when they have too many tasks to complete. Just like us, students get overwhelmed and stressed, and that stress interferes with their ability to recall and use information. And just like us, students need time to reflect, to prioritize, to think and plan ahead – essential parts of learning that are antithetical to pseudo-productivity.
This semester, I’ve made a conscious decision to assign my students less work. In particular, I’ve tried to eliminate some of the more mechanical assignments I typically give (or turn them into in-class activities). It’s too early for me to judge if that’s had any effect on student learning. But I have observed some students becoming more invested in thinking, rather than doing. They are taking more time to consider an idea or a text we’re reading, rather than simply rushing on to the next task. That’s an encouraging sign, but I still have much to learn, and I want to keep thinking about how to avoid pseudo-productivity in all aspects of my work. If I can’t suddenly “make time for myself”, perhaps I can at least figure out how to create deeper, richer learning experiences for my students and for myself.
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