Disabled Productivity is about riding the line between an external demand for productivity, and understanding our inherent worth as human beings.
In this society we live in, driven by a corporate desire for infinite profits, the demands on each of us only increase from year to year. Many of us dream of a world that doesn’t demand so much from anyone, where our worth is assumed and not determined or measured. Several of us are actively working to create that world, one brick and one conversation at a time. But in the meantime, we must survive.
Disabled Productivity is about learning how to survive and maybe even thrive in a world that is designed to leave us behind.
It’s about creating systems that handle some, if not most, of the work. It’s about creating safety nets under the things we know trip us up so we can recover more quickly. It’s about knowing ourselves, and building an environment that wields our strengths and protects our weaknesses, so that we can continue growing, learning, and enjoying.
Because it’s not about working harder, we already work so hard. It’s about learning navigation and programming, how to set things in motion and take back our time. It’s making the difficult and boring parts easier so we have enough energy to engage with the fun parts. It’s getting the work done faster so we can spend more time with our loved ones or with ourselves. It’s about making time for the joy we’ve forgotten we’re allowed to have.
It’s a difficult thing to balance. We must remind ourselves, and each other, that none of us have to “earn our place”, even in a time when we are literally expected to earn our livelihoods or starve. As a society, we can do better.
We already work hard. We do it to survive, we do it for ourselves, for our communities, and for a future where it isn’t necessary. Let’s not lose sight of that goal.