Surviving is Enough: Productivity Guilt During the New Normal.
About two weeks ago, I came up with a good strategy for writing my new manuscript. Every day, I tried to write a page and half, which compared to Steven King’s 10 pages a day is a fairly reasonable goal. So, when I realized that in the last week I haven’t written once, I felt like a failure. Here I am, lucky enough to only work part time outside of the house, and I hadn’t even written a word with my extra hours! The shame I felt kept me from enjoying myself with any other tasks, so I sat down to write with renewed vigor.
The shame that I felt was unjustified, and if you are another author reading this, you should know that any shame you feel is false guilt. But Faith, you might ask, how can I be an author if I don’t write? That’s not my point, and I still suggest trying to hit a word count every day if possible. However, in the times that we live in, a lot of things feel up in the air. Anxiety, unstability, these are all emotions that we must deal with.
It can be difficult when you see friends learn a new language, get in shape, and check things off their bucket list during the extra time Covid19 has given many of us, when all you’ve done is work and sleep. However, you should never feel ashamed for moving at a slower pace than others, as long as you are moving at any speed, even if microscopic.
Did you walk the dog today? Did you eat a healthy serving of fruits and veggies? There is potential for improving yourself in even the smallest actions, and self care is never something that should be eliminated in the quest for productivity. I don’t support laziness(Although it certainly tries to support me), but sometimes we forget that taking a day off or even a week from things can lead to us returning with a fresh mind.
So, now I try to think of that week I had off as a vacation. I’m back to writing and marketing, and I still dream of eventually breaking into the horror industry. Am I anywhere near that? Hell no. But, everything I do, down to writing this blog article and taking a multivitamin so I don’t die early from scurvy, helps me reach my end goal. In the end, my point is this. Never beat yourself up for falling behind, when you could spend that time moving forward.
