Problem 1: It Just Doesn’t Work (Bad Advice & Harmful Outcomes)#

Productivity brands and influencers face a unique challenge. It’s kind of the opposite problem faced by influencers promising to fix your finances.

• Personal Finance: Good personal finance is pretty simple and, frankly, a bit boring: save, avoid bad debt, boost income, invest long-term. You can pretty much fit the core ideas on a Post-It note (and people have!). This is a headache for finance influencers who need weekly content but can’t keep saying the same simple things. So, they end up making iffy predictions or sharing luck-based success stories instead of just solid advice.
• Productivity: Productivity influencers have the opposite problem – there’s too much to talk about. And without knowing your specific situation, they can’t give good suggestions. Uninformed advice? That’s basically bad advice.

Beyond just being ineffective, this intense focus on productivity can actually be harmful:

• A report by Psychology Today found that something called toxic productivity is a major cause of burnout, anxiety, and depression.
• Pushing too hard for productivity can lead to worse results for everyone involved. A Harvard Business Review study looked at employees fired for bad workplace behavior. A lot of them were actually high performers individually but dragged down their coworkers. Their strong belief in their own skills, rigid routines, and high expectations for others made them worse at helping the business get good results overall.
• The researchers in that study figured out that a worker intensely focused only on their own output might save a company about $533** in costs through increased output. But avoiding a toxic hire altogether? That could save an estimated **$2,489 because less toxic employees collaborate better, and clients are more open to changes.
• In your personal life, an extreme focus on productivity can surprisingly make you less productive. You might spend all your time trying to hyper-optimize every little task instead of just finding a way to get things done that works for you.

Despite the potential harm, the text says the cult of productivity isn’t going anywhere. There are “three terrible reasons” for this.

Reason 1: Technology Keeps Us “On”#

Technology has made work tasks easier, but it’s also made it easier to be available for work all the time.

• A 2017 Gallup survey of 15,000 American workers found that 43% spent at least some personal time working remotely. That number has likely jumped even higher with the widespread adoption of work-from-home since 2020.
• Employers are also asking non-hourly workers for more unpaid overtime, often at weird hours. This cuts into quality, uninterrupted free time where you can truly disconnect.
• As psychologist Adam Alter put it, if you carry a phone your boss or team can message or call you on anytime, you probably haven’t had real free time for years.

Reason 2: Fewer Traditional Support Structures#

People who work are putting in fewer hours individually, but more people are working overall.

• Having a stay-at-home partner who handles chores, childcare, and other home tasks is now a luxury many can’t afford.
• More people are also staying single longer.
• This means people often have to do their job and all their chores and home tasks themselves after work, without the help they might have gotten in the past from more traditional family setups.

Reason 3: Constant Distractions#

When was the last time you actually felt bored? Probably a while ago, right? Because now, you have a phone in your pocket loaded with:

• Games
• Messages
• Apps specifically designed to give you dopamine on demand. They are built from the ground up to keep your attention hooked.

The Real Terrible Reason (#3 in the original list, but a major driver)#

Okay, here’s a big one for why the cult of toxic productivity has gotten so massive: It’s incredibly profitable.

• Companies and individuals pushing the #hustle mindset haven’t just created these problems – they’re also perfectly positioned to sell you the solution.
• According to market research firm Precision Reports, the global market for productivity apps was worth $9.42 billion in 2022. It’s expected to grow by 9.2% per year until 2028.
• On top of apps, there’s a huge market for people selling:
  • Books
  • Courses
  • Consultations
  • Tutorials on avoiding distractions and squeezing every last drop out of your day.
• Why is this market so big? People who have decided they want to be more productive are high-intent customers. They’re willing to spend a lot because they see a good solution as an investment, not just a purchase. If an app or course promised to help you focus longer and build a side business that doubled your income, you’d likely pay a good amount for that, right?
• People seeking productivity boosts are also often wealthier and short on time, making them prime customers.
• This creates an environment where people can make millions very quickly if they build an audience and convince them they have the secret to maximizing productivity.

Now, the speaker stops short of calling all of this a “get-rich quick scheme style grift.” They believe that many popular figures in the space, like Ali Abdol, Alex Hormozi, and even Gary Vee, likely have good intentions and don’t mean harm. (Though some other self-improvement types just want your money, plain and simple). But even the well-intentioned ones still have something they need to sell you.

• It’s a classic marketing strategy: “Hey, look at me! I’m rich and successful. You could be too if you do the thing I’m selling!”
• A video showing how someone made $10 million a year and breaking down their income sources might seem transparent and well-meaning. But it also serves as a powerful demonstration of how well their advice worked for them, suggesting it could work for you. (The speaker admits they’ve made similar videos, finding them interesting and good for views, but they don’t sell a course on running businesses or getting big on YouTube).
• Some of the tools and services these people and companies sell are free, but some can cost thousands of dollars. With an audience so desperate to change their life for the better, it’s not uncommon for people to take on credit card debt to attend a “mindset conference” or buy a course they believe will be life-changing.

Look, if you pick up a few tips that help you stay on top of meetings or feel a bit less stressed about everyday chores, that’s fantastic. And if that’s worth spending some money on, go for it. But millions of people aren’t watching these videos hoping for minor improvements. They’re expecting something much bigger – something that simply can’t be bought. Figuring out how to stay focused for every hour of the day is probably not going to radically transform your life.