Did You Forget the Pandemic?
The number of people who have recently said to me “I’m just so unproductive” or “I don’t know why I can’t get anything done” is astonishing. Don’t get me wrong; I feel the same way. Still, maybe we’ve all forgotten about this thing called COVID-19. As I “celebrate” my one year anniversary of working from home, I have to wonder: did I do my best work? After getting myself un-stuck from this question, I ask the follow up: did I cut myself enough slack, given the world around me?
The last year has been traumatic for so many reasons. We’ve lived in fear and anger, we’ve been far from some of those we care most about, and we’ve struggled to determine what a “new normal” looks like for ourselves and the world. We’ve double-masked, we’ve huffed in the grocery store when someone goes the wrong way down the aisle, and we’ve worried when we are without Purell. Maybe, just maybe, we have more going on than our jobs, our classes, and our daily chores. Maybe doing your best doesn’t look like it used to because our brain power is spread a bit thin.
That leaves me with yet another question: how can I balance self-care and productivity? How can I lessen the guilt I feel when I realize I’ve been staring blankly at a computer screen for twenty minutes, when I don’t complete a task, or when I snooze my alarm? The answer isn’t easy, but it takes everything you’ve got and it takes all of us together. The standard needs to be of understanding, for yourself and for those around you. Every time you say “I should have been more productive” to someone, you spread that “energy” and expectation to that person. You get them wondering: was I productive enough today?
It’s about accepting the situation, accepting that we are all drained, and finding a way to spin it. Did you get something done today? Did you finish a task, do something you’ve been putting off, or help someone else? Those count! You did it! If someone else came to you and said “the only thing I got done today was the dishes”, wouldn’t you reassure them that they did their best? So, cut yourself some slack. Take a moment to breath. Spread an energy of acceptance. As you’ve surely heard, you can’t pour from an empty cup, and in this world and time we all need to allow our cups to refill so that we can take on the challenges around us.