Sunday 9 January 2022

Nerd Church - I'm Resisting the Onslaught of January Hustle Culture

 


'I'm Resisting the Onslaught of January Hustle Culture' with a fancy glittery background



It's that time of year again - the time when everyone and their great-aunt Lucy is trying to get you to buy into the ideals of work and productivity.

January is a webscape of blogposts which promise to increase your productivity by 1000%! or earn 50 times more by adopting THIS winning attitude! 

Vlogs of new fitness regimes/money-making schemes, which seem more like shaming lectures than helpful tips.

Humble-brag tweets about how 'few' followers/views/monies someone got last year, and how they're gonna do so much better in 2022 - and you can too if you enrol in this course!

...And under-pinning it all this vibe of having to do more! more! MORE! or else you only have yourself to blame for your unenviable position in life/work/Western society/whatever.



That's not to say that you can't have goals and New Year's resolutions, and all of that jazz...

...just don't make it out to be an absolute must. 

Have the excitement of something to work towards, while knowing that it's perfectly fine to not reach the destination you had in mind - lord knows, the last two years have shown that planning with no flexibility isn't something we can rely on.

Don't work yourself into exhaustion for anything - nothing is worth your health and wellbeing; it's not positive, not healthy, and not sustainable.



'Hustle culture' is less avoidable in January than it is the rest of the goddamn time, and it can feel more than a little pressuring.

And you know - because I am publicly a hot mess - that overworking is something that I struggle with. A lot.



So, this is a reminder to you, me, and everyone else:

You do not and should not have to work yourself to exhaustion.



Productivity is not the be-all and end-all of existence, and you matter regardless of how much you do or do not manage to get done.

I keep over-estimating how much I should be able to do in any given stretch of time - so my to-do-list is rarely reasonable because I don't even think about how much I can do in that time.

And then my self-worth goes down through the floor and into the basement when I don't get the things done that I think I should.



So, despite this year very much being at its beginning, I've already had to remind myself - several times - that pushing myself when I'm already struggling is not the way to be.

I've had a migraine since the last days of December - not fun. 

And since my first instinct when I'm not feeling my best is to double-down and work harder, I've had to force myself to rest and take things easy (...or at least easier.)



So trust me when I say I know the pain of resisting the productivity porn that clutters the web - especially at this time of year.

But you can only do what you can do. Sometimes that's more, and sometimes that's less. AND THAT'S OK.

Rest. Take breaks. Enjoy what you're doing. Avoid putting pressure on yourself.

I know it's easier said than done - good luck!





Do you notice an increase in hustle culture/productivity porn at this time of year?

Have you got any New Year's resolutions?

Talk to me! 😁💬







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6 comments:

  1. "Productivity porn" LOL.

    Personally, I'm a Mary, Mary, quite contrary 😂. If someone wants to steer me in a certain direction, I go the other way out of spite. Also, I don't do resolutions...I don't believe in their supposed power.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As someone who can be a stubborn little so-and-so, I heartily approve!

      I think it can be useful for some people to use the new year as a focal point for making plans and setting goals - but I think some people take it way too seriously!

      Delete
  2. I used to love New Year's Resolutions, but I think COVID killed my desire to make them. I haven't accomplished much in the last two years. All my plans got derailed. I'm not making any goals this year. I'll just do my best and see what happens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally get that - I think that people who say the last two years have been easy are either lying or some kind of anti-vaxxer.

      It's hard to plan when there's this much uncertainty in our lives!

      Delete
  3. I feel like I've seen a lot of this on Tik Tok. Really, the only thing I do to keep organized is keep a whiteboard calendar on my wall, but it usually ends up with my sister and I just writing dumb stuff on there like: Baby Yoda Appreciation Day. We try not to keep up with the productivity fads lol! You have to do what will make you the least stressed, and sometimes, a little bit of chaos can be calming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, I don't mind (attempting) being organised - I have a diary this year and everything! Writing what I was *intending* to do stops my Anxiety from repeating lists of tasks over and over again, which frees up a lot of brain-space! But I've been trying to make sure that I understand it's OK if I *don't* get the thing done - with varying results.

      Ha, whiteboards have to be messed with - it's the rules ;)

      Delete

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