The Real Reason Productivity Tips Aren’t Helping You (For Spoonies & the Neurospicy)

I'm back! Stick around to the end of the video to find out where I've been.

So why are common productivity tips often the opposite of helpful for spoonies and the neurospicy? By the end of this video you'll know why, and what to do about it.

Watch the video below or read on for the full transcript.

If you're a neurospicy, or a spoonie, and are looking to master yourself and your time in a compassionate way, this is the place for you to be. Subscribe to my channel and hit the bell (bell dings) to be notified when I post a new video every other Tuesday.

Recently, on a call with one of my clients, this topic came up and inspired an aha moment for them, which is why I want to share it with you now.

Most productivity tips were made by, and for, neurotypical and able bodied people. So of course they won't work for those who are neurodivergent, aka, neurospicy, chronically ill, or disabled. Most neurospicy spoonies know that already. So they work hard to adapt the strategies to meet their needs, which is amazing.

But these adapted strategies either still don't work, or they're completely unsustainable, and they inevitably crash and burn.

They end up feeling like they're the only person who can't get themselves to do things. Sound familiar?

You are not alone.

You are not the only person to experience this.

In fact, many people experience this. Besides its inherent ableism, aka productivity tips are made by and for neurotypical able-bodied people, there is also a sense of toxic independence running through productivity and hustle culture, and it is also ableist. And I hate it.

What's worse is these things lead to internalized ableism.

So why are common productivity tips often the opposite of helpful for spoonies and the neurospicy? The answer is ableism. But since neither I, nor you, have control over the neurotypical and able-bodied, I want to talk to you about what we do have a semblance of control over, our internalized ableism.

Type "GRRR" in the comments below if you're just as angry about being thrown under the bus by hustle culture as I am.

So real quick, what is ableism? Ableism is discrimination in favor of able bodied people. And furthermore, "internalized ableism is when a disabled person discriminates against themself, and other disabled people, by holding the view that disability is something to be ashamed of, or something to hide, or by refusing accessibility or support. Internalized ableism may be a result of mistreatment with individuals with disability. It is a form of gaslighting." (Source: Wikipedia)

All right, you now have all the context to understand the point I want to make today, which is why and how using allistic productivity tips from the perspective of internalized ableism, is harming you. When someone has internalized ableism, and is trying to make common productivity tips work for them, the internalized ableism makes the goal to behave like a neurotypical, able-bodied person.

Subconsciously, we neurospicy spoonies expect to hack our way to fixing our divergence, so we can finally be neurotypical, and able-bodied. But that's not how it works. And I want to be clear here. This isn't a conscious expectation. This is subconscious. It is a subconscious result of internalized ableism.

Internalized ableism tells you that the goal is to fix yourself. But as long as that is your goal, all you will continue to do is invalidate, and harm yourself.

So let me ask you this. What if the goal wasn't to fix yourself? What if the goal was to radically accept your neurodivergence, and/or disability, and compassionately accommodate yourself instead?

Understanding that what 'productive' looks like for you will look very different than what it looks like for neurotypical, and able bodied people. Everything about how I live my life (and run my business for that matter), would probably look super weird to someone who is allistic and/or able-bodied. In fact, the way I live my life would probably make them super uncomfortable, and that's okay. I'm not living their life. I'm living mine.

So let me ask you again. What if the goal wasn't to fix yourself? What if the goal was to compassionately accommodate yourself and give your neurodivergence and/or disability permission to be the fundamental part of you that they are?

Now you know why internalized ableism is an inherent part about why common productivity tips can be downright harmful for neurospicy spoonies. Which means it's time to talk about where I've been these past months. I was busy running my signature course, The Action Navigator live, and boy howdy was it amazing!

Long story short, the Action Navigator is an eight module course packed to the brim with tools and techniques for mastering your time, getting organized, and offering yourself radical compassion as a neurospicy spoonie.

My students are absolutely amazing, and I'm honored to get to work with each and every one of them. And the exciting news is now that the live version is over, the Action Navigator is now available as a prerecorded self-paced course. That includes lifetime access to weekly group coaching calls with yours truly, my private and magical Discord community, as well as any and all future course updates.

If that sounds like exactly what you've been looking for, use this link to book a call with me to learn more. I can't wait to meet you.

Check out this blog post next to learn more about overcoming mental resistance.

If you liked this video, hit that like button and subscribe, and be sure to share it with your friends. I'll be back in two weeks with another video. See you then, bye.