The Toxic Obsession With Being Productive
Tags: Productivity, Pandemic, Social Media, Isolation, Depression

The Toxic Obsession With Being Productive Rishabh Follow Sep 12 · 4 min read

“Any way you live through a pandemic is the right way because at least you’re living.”

A few weeks ago, I came across a post that said:

“If you didn’t develop a new skill during this pandemic, you never will.”

I paraphrase, but you get the idea. If you didn’t spend the entire pandemic reading ten books a day, learning a new language every week, getting shredded, and meditating till you reach enlightenment, all while you bake a cake; then my friend, you’re doing it all wrong. That’s not how you live through a pandemic. But any way you live through a pandemic is the right way because at least you’re living. When you’re in the middle of a pandemic, the only goal is to survive, not turn into a demigod. This brought forward a problem with everyone around us: we are too obsessed with being productive.

One other statement I saw being repeated was about how Isaac Newton invented calculus and discovered gravity while he was confined at home during the Bubonic plague, so everyone else should be just as productive as him. First of all, he’s Isaac Newton. I have many things to feel bad about; not being Isaac Newton is not one of them. Stop comparing yourself with others and their accomplishments. Every person is different, with their own distinct experiences.

The lives of others shouldn’t dictate how you should be living yours. Just because someone else spent their entire day learning something, doesn’t mean you must do that too, unless you really want to. It all depends on what you want to do if what you want is a break, then you should take one. A pandemic can be very taxing on one’s mind. It is stressful, the future seems uncertain, and it is normal to lose motivation to do anything. Forcing yourself to be productive just because others are, without paying any attention to your mental health, is not a good idea. The virus forced a massive change upon us, and it is expected that everyone would react differently to it. The balance between work and personal life was suddenly disrupted almost without any warning. It is a difficult task to adapt to such a colossal change. When you’re stuck at home 24/7, it is even harder to focus, hence, not everyone can be as productive, or perhaps, more importantly not everyone wants to be as productive.

This brings me to my second point: social media and how it has been used amid the pandemic. There is no doubt that social media has helped bring all of us together during such difficult times. It also acted as the perfect pastime.

A study conducted by the Global Web Index in July 2020 found that social media usage increased by 10.5%, as compared to July 2019. The number of active social media users shot past 51% of the total global population. This is not very surprising.

When you feel lonely, depressed, anxious, or stressed, you use social media more often. The fear of missing out, or FOMO, as it is more popularly termed, was at an all-time high, which had people coming back to their social media accounts multiple times throughout the day.

We often found ourselves scrolling through our social media feeds for long stretches of time. And the feed was filled with positivity. At first, that felt like a good thing. We could all use some positivity in these challenging times. Right? Actually, no. While forced positivity has been a serious issue with social media for a long time, it only worsened during the pandemic. Looking at others boasting about their “perfect” life on the internet while you struggle with even day-to-day activities can take quite a toll on your mental state. When you force happiness upon yourself, you don’t allow your mind to process the situation. You don’t even try to analyze what you’re feeling. It is a trying situation we’re all in, do not invalidate your emotions. If you constantly force yourself to be happy and positive, it will leave you exhausted and more depressed than before. Happiness shouldn’t be the only emotion you feel. It is okay to feel sad, to feel frustrated, to be angry at how things are, and it is okay to feel unmotivated. Your feelings are justified.

With the way things are changing worldwide, you need to come to terms with your feelings. Comparing your productivity with others, especially in a time when people simply love to show off on social media, can put you down for weeks. Don’t be so harsh on yourself. You were not prepared for this, none of us were. You are free to take some time off to gauge your emotions. It is not really a race, unless you force it to be one.

After all, your goal shouldn’t be to never fall but to rise again stronger. So take your time, muster your strength, strengthen your relationship with yourself, and when this whole ordeal is done, you’ll be a much stronger person, and a lot more in touch with your emotions. These are bizarre circumstances. You must remain vigilant and not allow external pressures to divert your attention away from your primary goal of survival. There is no need for you to become the ultimate human; it’s okay to stay the way you are.