In today’s world, we are surrounded by the attention economy and the optimization movement that demands our attention every waking moment.
However, there is a growing trend towards “disciplined disengagement,” which involves actively disengaging from these demands to maintain our mental health.
This is not laziness or lethargy though it appears so, but a conscious effort to find a healthy balance between productivity and non-productivity. Yet this trend and prioritizing our mental well-being over the societal pressure to be constantly productive is itself another optimization to normalization and hyper-production: balance now for intense anxiety later.