With COVID-19, we’ve all been tuning into the online space to make up for the isolation dictated by social distancing. Social media is being dominated right now, ranging from discussion of the latest news with Facebook friends, lighthearted jokes about coping with the current quarantine on TikTok, to flocking to Twitter to air out various thoughts and anxieties.
There is one tweet in particular though, that has been making its rounds recently for calling every single person at home out:
“If you don’t come out of this quarantine with either:
2.) starting what you’ve been putting off like a new business
You didn’t ever lack the time, you lacked the discipline” – @TheJeremyHaynes
There’s another version of this tweet that also has been circulating, saying nearly the same thing verbatim. However, it instead refers to starting a new business as a “side hustle,” playing into the pressure to be productive constantly.
Even in isolation, it seems we can’t escape hustle culture.
There are articles upon articles about how to fill the hours of a quarantine day, but at the same time, other spaces on the Internet have been perpetuating a pressure to hustle: that if one is just doing anything other than pursuing new business opportunities, taking on online courses, or learning a new skill, they are wasting time. That they apparently “lack discipline,” and for that reason, there are no excuses to not actively be working towards bigger things.
We are all dealing with a global pandemic right now. For some, that means losing a stable income, for others, it, unfortunately, has meant the loss of friends and family. The lack of socialization and inability to go outside has been heavy on the mental health of many, and on top of that, the transition to online learning—or perhaps more accurately, online everything—has been a steep learning curve process for professors, students, parents and children alike.
We’re all doing our best to navigate the current situation we are in. There should not be a competition, because this is not a competition.
Things are hard right now. Avoid putting pressure on yourself, and don’t allow others to put that pressure there for you – it’s more than okay to just let yourself breathe. We are all part of a global event out of our individual means of control.
There is nothing wrong with productivity; however, there is a line one should be wary of. Do not feel like you have to be productive 24/7 because of the free time that has been thrust upon you. Otherwise, you will find yourself falling into a guilt spiral if you fail to meet that “neverending hustle-and-grind” ideal. Do things on your own terms, at your own time. Remember that you have a choice, not an obligation.
“If you don’t come out of this quarantine with either:
2.) starting what you’ve been putting off like a new business
You’re probably a human and should still be proud of making it through this extremely rough time” – @SusannaLHarris
Don’t burn yourself out, your own wellness comes first. If you do want to work, remember that you do not have to work endlessly. Do your mind and body a favor and space things out, work at your own pace, and pencil in time for a breather. Taking advantage of your time does not mean pushing yourself past your limits, it means using your time in a way that works in your favor, in a way that best accommodates you.
Working through it, and figuring out how to cope, is enough. Just to get through this pandemic is enough.
You are doing just fine.