In recent years, there has been a surge in YouTube channels whose content centres around being productive and studying. The rise in the number of such YouTube channels has led to the term ‘Study Productivity YouTubers’ being coined. Titles such as “12 hours study day” or “How to be productive while sick” have really gained momentum in the genre, and I am not talking about people who are using such titles as clickbait: They really are constantly productive in their videos, regardless of their circumstances.
I should first clarify that there is nothing inherently bad or wrong about being productive. Being productive is crucial to accomplish our daily tasks. However, what is alarming about this trend is the message it conveys, that productivity and studying takes priority over anything else. Most worryingly, the comment sections of such videos reflect that viewers are soaking up such content thinking that being productive for long periods in a day is the norm. Comments range from “I wish I was this productive”, “You are my inspiration”, to “How do you manage to be this productive when all I do lie around”, “I feel like a failure” , and so on.
I have to admit, I used to be an avid watcher of such videos. I even followed and subscribed to these YouTube channels. It was fascinating and motivating to see students around the world, from high school or university, dedicating their time to studying and achieving good grades. In their videos, they would spend most of their time prepping for upcoming examinations and assignments with little to almost no breaks in between. They became my role models as I wanted to achieve high grades just like them. I aspired to be like them and dedicated most of my time to studying too.
Subsequently, it became like a sort of competition with the YouTubers I watched. Was I studying as much as them? Was I as tired as them? How were my grades compared with theirs? Even when I was tired and sick, I felt the pressure to study. If I wasn’t studying, I would feel extremely inadequate as I felt that I was wasting my time away. Unsurprisingly, I became burnt out and it took a serious toll on my mental health. It has taken quite a while for me to get over this obsessive need to be constantly studying. It has taken me even longer to understand the signals that my body and brain gives out when they are tired and need a break.
Life is already tumultuous and stressful as it is. Many factors outside of our control can affect our productivity. For example, not everyone has a conducive environment to study: some people have to work part-time to pay for their tuition fees or contribute to their family’s expenses. Others have to take care of their elderly or younger family members after school. For women, menstruation can also affect our productivity. Period symptoms such as uncomfortable cramping, fatigue and more, sometimes make it difficult to get work done. We need to start realising that our situation differs from one another, and that at the end of the day, everyone has different studying methods as well. We need to start taking care of our mental and physical health, rather than bashing ourselves for not conforming to toxic productivity. I am not calling out any study YouTuber nor am I solely blaming them. Like most of us, they too are victims of hustle culture and hustle mentality. This obsession with productivity, is nothing new, but with the rise of social media, such ideas are able to reach a worldwide audience. Given that most of us use YouTube, it would be hard not to see such content even if we are not actively searching for it. However, the next time you come across such content, remember that such expectations are unrealistic and that it is never worthwhile to trade productivity for your own well-being. Most importantly, your grades do not define you; outside of those arbitrary letters, there is a whole world of exciting things waiting for you to explore.