When Productivity Becomes a Trap: A Marketing Entrepreneur’s Wake-Up Call
This morning I looked in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. Not because she had changed - because she hadn’t.
The under-eye bags, the dull skin, the deep fatigue behind the eyes… all of it was familiar. Too familiar.
And it hit me: I’ve been sprinting through life at full throttle, chasing productivity, growth, optimization - without leaving room for joy.
Here’s the kicker: I actually felt rested. I had a low-key weekend. I got a decent sleep. I did the things that normally “fill my cup.” And still, the reflection staring back screamed burnout.
The problem wasn’t sleep. It was the nonstop mental load.
In my “downtime,” I’m listening to business podcasts. Watching YouTube tutorials on conversion techniques. Studying buyer psychology, content trends, and copywriting frameworks. Even my “fun” reading is about funnels and personal development.
I sound like a heap of fun, hey? LOL
If you’re a fellow marketing entrepreneur, you might recognize this:
When everything becomes a strategy, nothing feels like soul.
I realized that I don’t know how to do joy anymore. I can schedule it. Structure it. Optimize it. But feel it? That’s become foreign.
And that’s not okay.
So I’m making a change. Not a massive overhaul. Not another 90-day plan.
Just this: I’m reclaiming Sunday.
No productivity. No funnels. No journaling about how to be better.
Just joy for the sake of it. A walk by the water. A wine tasting. Picking flowers. Laughing with friends. Whatever brings levity - not leverage.
As marketers and entrepreneurs, we often preach balance, alignment, humanity. But it has to start with us. Because if the people behind the brand are exhausted, disconnected, and joyless… the strategy can’t save it.
So here’s your permission slip (and mine):
You don’t have to earn rest. You don’t have to justify joy.
You just have to want more for yourself than burnout disguised as ambition.
I’m still learning this.
But for now, I’m putting joy back on the calendar.
Not as a tactic.
As a lifeline.