Being healthy is productive

I recently started consistently going to the gym for the first time in my life. One underrated perk I have found from working out regularly is that once I've exercised for the day, I feel like I've accomplished something meaningful and difficult. This reduces the pressure on me to make the rest of my day equally productive, putting me in a positive mental space and making it more likely that I'll spend my time well.

After realizing this, I began thinking about other activities that make me feel satisfied with my day, even if I accomplish nothing else. I feel this satisfaction when I complete a difficult, traditionally productive task — such as writing a long blog post, fixing a tricky bug at work, or finishing an enriching book. But I feel just as fulfilled when I cook a healthy meal for myself or when I sleep particularly well, even though these activities aren't necessarily difficult to complete. They are so physically important and satisfy such basic human needs (fitness, nutrition, self-sufficiency) that I think the brain tricks itself into feeling fulfilled afterward so that we humans keep doing them.

This message hasn't sunk in deeply for me in the past. I've almost always placed my physical productivity as secondary to my mental productivity. As an example, I often delay sleeping by an hour or two (even when I'm dead tired) to give myself the chance to squeeze in a few more productive tasks, like reading an extra chapter of a book or reaching "Genius" in NYT's Spelling Bee game. But when I'm in situations where I don't have the option of focusing on anything else except my physical well-being, like when I was backpacking in the Trinity Alps last week with nothing to keep me entertained except my heartbeat and my thoughts, I found no meaningful difference in my sense of fulfillment and self-satisfaction. Focusing completely on my physical well-being felt spiritually satisfying in a way I've never felt writing code or completing tasks off a checklist.

I often chase productivity for productivity's sake, but I've realized a better goal to pursue is physical (and mental) well-being. Focus on living a healthy life, and productivity will soon follow.