The Productivity Cult: A Journey to Nowhere

Kadija and Zara are sitting in Kadija’s living room, sipping tea as a faint breeze carries the sound of birds chirping. Zara has just finished telling Kadija about her coworker’s obsession with being “productive.”

Zara:

K, you won’t believe this. My coworker said she starts every morning with journaling, a workout, and a cold shower because she read somewhere that’s what successful people do.

Kadija (raising an eyebrow):

Let me guess, she’s still stressed and overwhelmed?

Zara (nodding):

Exactly. And she’s constantly saying how “busy” she is.

Kadija:

Ah, yes. The classic “productivity without purpose.” Zara, these people aren’t productive — they’re lost. They don’t even know where they’re going. They just grab whatever some self-help guru said, slap it into their day, and call it progress.

Zara:

Right? It’s like they think waking up at 5 a.m. and taking cold showers is the golden ticket to success.

Kadija:

The golden ticket to what, though? That’s the problem. They don’t even have a destination. There are three kinds of people when it comes to this mess. One: the aimless ones who sit and do absolutely nothing all day, convinced that life will somehow figure itself out. Two: the busy aimless ones who stuff their days with random habits and call it productivity, but they’re just walking in circles. And three: the ones who have an aim but no purpose.

Zara:

What’s the difference between the last two?

Kadija:

Here’s the thing. If you have an aim without a purpose, you’re still lost. Let me break it down: imagine someone starts a YouTube channel because they want to hit a million subscribers. That’s their aim. They grind every single day, teaching people to “build themselves” and “learn new skills” — until one day, they wake up exhausted, wondering why they can’t just sleep an extra 10 hours or hang out with their friends without feeling guilty.

Zara:

And then what happens?

Kadija:

They burn out, dismantle everything they’ve built, fire their team, cancel clients, and cry on YouTube about needing to “find themselves.” And the audacity doesn’t stop there — they call it a “pivot.”

Zara (laughing):

A pivot?

Kadija:

Yeah, pivoting. That’s what they tell themselves when they’re trying to rebuild after destroying everything for no reason. And you know what’s even more ridiculous? They’ll call their friends or colleagues for advice — and instead of getting real answers, they get a bunch of sugar-coated nonsense like, “Oh, it happens to all of us,” or, “Just take some time to relax.” Meanwhile, they have the audacity — the damn audacity — to think they can just walk back into the business world and expect people to trust them. Who’s going to invest in someone who clearly has no stability or sense of responsibility? You dismantled your entire operation, ruined people’s lives, canceled clients, and fired your team just because you couldn’t handle your own lack of purpose. And instead of having the wisdom to put the business under someone else’s care while you figure yourself out, you flat-out destroyed it. Then you come back crying for clients and money? Please. You’re unstable, irresponsible, and honestly, delusional. No one owes you a second chance.

Zara:

Wow, so it’s like having a map without knowing why you’re going to the destination — blaming everyone else when you get lost, screwing over everyone who trusted you along the way, and then thinking you can just waltz back and rejoin the journey like nothing happened.

Kadija:

Exactly. And then you have the ones who guilt themselves into calling every minute of their day “productive” because they think sitting still is “lazy.” They’re the ones who feel the need to justify every action — like, if I’m not journaling, hiking, or grinding, I must be failing. It’s absurd.

Zara:

So what should they do?

Kadija:

First, stop separating your life into “productive” and “unproductive” parts. If you’re eating, sleeping, or spending time with loved ones, that’s not wasting time — that’s fueling yourself. People with real purpose understand that everything they do feeds into their larger mission, whether it’s work, rest, or play.

Zara:

And the ones who do nothing at all?

Kadija:

Oh, that’s just the other extreme. They sit there scrolling or watching nonsense all day, calling it “relaxation,” when really they’re running away from themselves. But the ones who are “busy aimless” are just as bad — they pack their days with habits they don’t even understand, hoping it’ll somehow make them successful. Both are lost.

Zara:

So what do you say to these people?

Kadija (sipping her tea):

Get an aim and a purpose. The two go hand in hand. If you don’t have both, you’ll either walk in circles or run yourself into the ground trying to get to nowhere.

Zara:

You make it sound so simple.

Kadija (shrugging):

Because it is. People complicate it. Life isn’t about looking busy or following trends — it’s about alignment. Stop trying to earn the right to exist. Just live with intention.

Zara (smiling):

So, what about those “productive” people we were talking about?

Kadija:

Let them cry on YouTube, Zara. Meanwhile, you’ll be over here, living your life with honesty and full integrity.

Zara (laughing):

Wow, K. Reality might just have to send you a thank-you note.

Kadija:

I am reality, Zara.