EP 3600 Do you suffer from productivity dysmorphia?

In this episode, Shaun O'Gorman breaks down a modern trap that's quietly crushing good people: productivity dysmorphia. It's the distorted belief that you're never doing enough, even when you're performing, progressing, and carrying serious responsibility. You look at your week, your body of work, your family load, and your leadership demands and still feel behind. Not because you are behind, but because your internal scoreboard is broken.

Shaun unpacks how this mindset forms through comparison culture, endless metrics, and the addictive pull of "just one more task." You'll hear why high performers are especially vulnerable: competence raises expectations, so you keep moving the goalposts. The cost is brutal: chronic stress, short fuse, poor sleep, relationship erosion, and the constant background guilt that you should be working.

The episode gives you a practical reset. First, separate activity from impact by defining what "productive" actually means in your current season. Second, install a daily definition of done so you can finish the day without negotiating with your own mind. Third, audit the lies driving the pressure such as perfectionism, fear of falling behind, and identity tied to output. Shaun also challenges the common mistake of trying to fix a mindset problem with more time management. If you don't address the belief…

Shaun shares signs: you minimise wins, you feel anxious during rest, you constantly rewrite your to do list, and you judge yourself by what's unfinished rather than what's completed. He offers a seven day challenge: document evidence of value delivered, not hours worked.

You'll leave with a simple framework to measure progress without self punishment: choose three priorities, track one meaningful outcome, and deliberately create recovery so your nervous system can handle the load. This is about building a life that performs without breaking. Stop chasing more and start owning enough.