Have you heard of Productivity Dysmorphia?

Why I hadn't I discovered this earlier? There's actually a NAME for what many overachievers and underrepresented people face — the inability to enjoy our achievements because we just don't think they're THAT GOOD: Productivity Dysmorphia.

It's the urge that pushes you to overdeliver (sometimes to your detriment) to prove to others, but usually to ourselves, that we're worthy of the rate we're being paid or the opportunity we're given. The endless drive towards greatness that sometimes, even being #1 doesn't really satisfy. The rush to move on to the next thing or only focus on what didn't go well instead of celebrating a job well done.

This isn't imposter syndrome. We know we're capable of the task at hand, this is about how we see our outputs. How we see what we produce. And it's a trap. You know why? Because if we're unable to celebrate our hard work, we step into a cycle of endless production... a frenzied mode of overwork that presses towards an unattainable goal. So naturally, a by-product of productivity dysmorphia is, you guessed it, BURNOUT.

Your burnout might be a symptom of a bigger issue. Take the quiz on our Instagram to see if you might have it — and read Anna Codrea-Rado's in-depth article for Refinery 29.

Do you think you have Productivity Dysmorphia? How are you dealing with it? How do you cope? Let us know on Instagram or Twitter.

Some food for thought ahead of the weekend

— Abi, Editor