When is the last time you did something just for fun? Something simply for the enjoyment of it!
My life at the moment is unfortunately productive, given I have an 11 week old baby. And yet in the midst of it all - and at the recommendation of a friend - I indulged myself a fiction book, I AM PILGRIM.
I read a lot, I should mention. All sorts of books, too! Philosophical books like The Power of Now. Relationship books like Fair Play. Self-help books like Set Boundaries, Find Peace. Business books like Atomic Habits. But most of these books are chosen for a reason - I want to learn something.
But with I AM PILGRIM, I had no agenda. There was nothing to be gained by reading this book other than pure enjoyment. The transporting of myself into an alternate universe. One full of characters and plot lines that twisted and turned so elegantly around each other.
Now, I’m sure many of you have read a book just for fun. But how often do you prioritize this fun? How often do you gift yourself a moment of “un”-productivity?
I chose my wording carefully there. Gift, in particular. Because I bet you that the last time you gifted yourself a moment of fun you had “earned” it. You had closed a big deal at work, so you treated yourself to a relaxing holiday. Or you had run a marathon, so you allowed yourself a Netflix binge of your favorite series.
“Treated”. “Allowed”. You didn’t even bat your eyes at these words, and yet when pulled out to stand alone, I hope you see what I see.
That we feel we must first suffer, in order to be deserving of play.
When in fact, play is the one thing we come into this world knowing how to do. And that is because there is immense value in doing it.
Children don’t play “to have fun”. Children play to explore developing skills. Children play to understand the world. Children play to connect with other children.
Play, in its true form, is productive.
And yet when we decide to grow up, we forget that play is powerful in this respect. Instead, we see it as something that is not worth spending our time on.
It’s a waste of time, in fact.
And yes, thanks to capitalism, play has been classed as wasteful. Because in playing, you are doing something that is productive for you and you alone (rather than for the companies that want to use our skills to increase their profits).
What capitalism has also allowed for, is capitalist sanctioned play. Boujee drinks at rooftop bars. Silent retreats and digital detoxes. Insta worthy moments of “fun” that cost boatloads of money, and drain us even further of our energy. So that when you’re done playing, you go back to spending money on Uber & Amazon - the two companies known for saving you time (and therefore, energy).
When really all we need to be able to play is the great outdoors. A piece of paper and a pen. A ball and a friend.
I am preaching here, and I know you get it. You’ve come this far, which tells me you want to live life in the slow lane (or are at least considering it). Equally, I understand what it means to be on the hamster wheel, and how hard it is to get off it.
What I can tell you is that it’s possible to get off it, because I’ve done it. I can also share the first step with you.
It’s giving yourself permission to play without needing to “earn” it.
You can do this on your own, but it’s damn hard to do. It will take a long time. It took me 6 years to go from thinking about it to doing it. I hired multiple coaches, took numerous courses and read an obscene amount of self-help books. And even with all of that, I still wanted to find an easier way.
I dreamt of trading the city for the forest and running away from my capitalist problems. But as we know, running away from our problems means they only come back roaring louder later on.
So I will repeat it again for you, in different words.
The only answer to permanently get off the hamster wheel is feeling that you have the permission to be “unproductive” on a city street lined with take away cafés. To be able to be surrounded by those still caught up in the hustle, and choose day in and day out to live differently.
And speaking from experience, the only way I found I was able to access this permission was through feeling like you belong. Through having a like-minded home & community. These are the things that have the power to create accountability, provide support & fuel your bravery in leaving the rat race. In choosing creativity over productivity.
This is why The Unproductive Club exists. It’s your people. It’s your home base. It’s the gentle yet constant reminder to prioritize play in your life without needing to earn it. We know that life gets busy from time to time (as it does when you have a baby, for example) but in The Club we are committed to the notion of being “unproductive” by society’s standards.
Instead of productivity & strategy, we choose creativity and receptivity to guide us. The two things you’ll learn to love after entering The Club.
So come on in. We’d love for you to stay a while.