Having combined time scarcity with an efficiency mindset, many people in these circles have developed an anxious urge to pack as much as possible into each remaining box, akin to what Germans call Torschlusspanik, the fear of time running out. When I posted a message asking if any “recovering productivity junkies” would be willing to be interviewed

this philosophy rejects busyness, seeing overload as an obstacle to producing results that matter, not a badge of pride. It also posits that professional efforts should unfold at a more varied and humane pace, with hard periods counterbalanced by relaxation at many different timescales, and that a focus on impressive quality, not performative activ

what we really need—more so than righteous disdain or brash new policy—is a slower conception of what it even means to be productive in the first place.