Dear Patient,
When I put Notes from Your Acupuncturist on Pause back in early June, I left it open-ended: no deadlines, no expectations, no plan for when I’d resume. A true break. I figured I’d rest a bit, do some pleasure reading, and maybe work on some new ideas for the newsletter. Little did I know I was stepping into a wild and wonderful summer of being Unproductive.
The first unproductive thing I did was take a week off of work to attend dance camp. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and when a last minute a slot came available at my local studio, I had to say yes. My coworkers scrambled to cover my shifts, and I got to dance through five glorious days. I was the oldest participant by a few decades, at times barely able to keep up with the younger dancers, but I didn’t care. At the end of every day I collapsed onto the couch, sore, exhausted and giddy. By the end of the week I could barely walk, thanks to an overly enthusiastic jete on the final day, resulting in a pulled groin muscle. I got nothing done that week. Emails went unreturned, housework went undone, to-do list items went un-checked off. It was the best week I’ve had in a long time.
The second unproductive thing I did this summer was get covid. After more than two years of dodging that particular bullet, it finally came for my husband and me at the same time. It could have been much worse, but it was still terrible. Ten days in bed. Plans were cancelled, projects were put on hold. Once again, coworkers scrambled to cover for me. I spent a lot of that time thinking about my chronically ill patients—for many of them, exhausted and achy is their normal. The pain and fatigue don’t lift after a negative antigen test. I was reminded that being sick is a good opportunity to practice empathy. I finally eased my way back into work, and tried to empty my calendar of other obligations as I slowly regained my stamina. I learned some patience and compassion in the process. And in that way, I became a better clinician because of covid.
And then the most unproductive thing of all happened a few weeks ago…my husband and I got a puppy. This little fella has a long backstory, but the short version is he started life as a street dog in Kosovo, got hit by a car, was rescued by a guardian angel, convalesced for a few months at a vet’s kennel, flew to the US, got evaluated by another vet who determined that his leg was badly damaged and beyond saving, had his leg amputated, then was driven from Chicago to Indianapolis, where we picked him up and drove him on home to Nashville. Whew. Puppies are the ultimate diversion, demanding attention all the time…when they’re being cute, when they’re getting into trouble, when they’re bored, and especially whenever you’re trying to get anything done. Where did the month of September go?? Oh yes, it was devoured by a 30-pound, three-legged, adorable furry precious monster demon.
We live in a society obsessed with productivity. We’re conditioned to believe that our value is derived solely from what we produce, and that leisure is a luxury, or worse, a vice. But being unproductive has its benefits. Unproductivity (which is maybe not a real word but I’m using it anyway) can be fun and exhilarating; it can be restful and introspective; it can be rejuvenating and hilarious; it can be healing. Unproductivity doesn’t produce deliverables or outcomes, but it adds up to time, and life, well spent.
So here’s to an Unproductive week ahead.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist
P.S. Did you think I’d leave you hanging without a picture of the new puppy?? Here he is…Otis, Master of Unproductivity.
Lao Tzu: "Doing nothing, nothing is left undone."
I seem to be having trouble understanding unproductivity. As someone with a house full of rescued animals and as an animal foster for a rescue group, taking care of the critters is the most productive thing I do. Right up there with my practice, if not more so and it is the best medicine in the world for me and them. How is rescuing and caring for another living being unproductive? What am I missing?