Like so many others throughout recent lockdowns, I have felt a never-ending pressure to be productive. It seems every other day brings news of the inspiring ways in which people have spent their time – from fitness journeys to small businesses and charity fundraisers. On top of this, the exciting new projects that old friends are embarking on are plastered all over our social media feeds. We often associate being at home with down-time, but I’ve never felt the need to work so hard.
Productivity is typically considered to be an inherently good thing. However, truth be told, it is a ‘tricky’ word. What should be a simple measure of output too often takes the liberty of measuring our worth. We seem to be trapped in a frame of mind, wherein if we’re not spending our every moment working either on or towards a new goal, we’re simply not working hard enough. Rather than burnout – a symptom of overworking – being a source of worry, we’re actually encouraged to take pride in it – regardless of how it impacts our health.
We have convinced ourselves that through an unwavering goal-focus, we can achieve anything. By working ourselves to the point of exhaustion, we may be able to find fulfilment. It suggests that even through a global pandemic, many of our minds have been drawn to how we can treat this as an opportunity to contribute to our CVs, and work towards that dream job.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with working hard, nor worrying about having gaps in your CV. But problems arise when, time and time again, this productivity-focussed culture comes wrapped in the harmful idea that you, as you are, just aren’t enough. That is, unless you take that phone-call, commit yourself to that new project or take up a new hobby.
Found in workplaces, universities, and, thanks to Covid-19 restrictions, our homes, this culture rather worryingly encourages us to value ourselves by only one measure – our productivity. While there is certainly great value in doing things that you find meaningful as well as a pleasure in learning new things, allowing our productivity to define us burns us out, and routinely undermines other essential elements of our lives, such as rest or personal relationships.
Through the months of lockdown, this toxic mindset has intensified. To many, merely surviving a global pandemic has simply stopped being good enough. We are made to feel as though to just “try and get through it” is an excuse, when it should be our priority. We are told this pandemic is an opportunity, and to “make the most” of the spare time we had very little of before. In this case, to “make the most” refers to working much harder than we probably should be.
However, when we get down to it, this pandemic isn’t really something to be treated as an opportunity – it is a global crisis. Such a relationship with our work is always harmful, but in this scenario, the effects of our overworking can only get worse. It’s no secret that people’s mental health is currently suffering – particularly students’, and the situation has only been made worse by a loss of support networks, and lack of social interaction. Nobody deserves their challenges to be compounded with the aforementioned pressure to be productive. Perhaps more importantly – nobody deserves to have their personal struggles minimised by the incessant reminder that, technically, you could be doing more.
If you’re somebody who’d love to take lockdown as an opportunity to start up a small business, embark on a fitness journey or add something new to your CV – I have nothing but support for you. For some, writing a book, learning a new skill, or picking up a hobby is a fantastic way of coping with the current situation, as it can put us at ease, and return to us a lost sense of routine.
But, for many, this pressure to be productive is just not needed. Difficulties caused by this pandemic cannot be overstated, and its impacts will be felt for some time after we come out of the other side. Given these circumstances, getting up in the morning should alone be worthy of praise. As clichéd as it sounds by this point, it’s okay not to be at your ‘normal’ levels of productivity – because nothing is normal. And it is important to remind ourselves of that sometimes.
Despite what we’re often told, if your lockdown hasn’t been particularly productive, there isn’t anything wrong with that. In fact, those of you who have had less productive lockdowns may have taught yourselves the most valuable skill of all – the long-lost art of giving yourself a break.
You certainly deserve it.