How many times have you been doing somehting you like only to get distracted by the thoughts of something you have yet to do, and start worrying whether you need to cut short your leisure activity? I miss the times when I could just dive into a book for the whole day without worrying about 'work on the waiting list'.
We feel the urge to keep working because we feel good upon completing each task. We seek this steroid. We must excel. We must improve. We must put in our best effort in everything we do. Only then are we justified to be happy and post a #hustle on our IG story.
A large part of this stems from our society; 'make the most of your time' is emphasised since we were young. This statement isn't wrong: we really do have a limited time on Earth so if we are productive in everything we do, then we can do so much more. But ain't this ironical? There's just a never ending list of things to do! From household chores to work to leisure activities to meeting friends, we are always thinking how to be productive so that we can complete the most number of things in the limited few hours we have. We aim to finish the task on hand only to realise...there's just more tasks that haven't been completed. So where do we draw the line for what's too much work and the 'perfect level of productivity'? I'm sure most of you have experienced burnout from the sheer amount of things we have to do.
This has insidious effects on our wellbeing. How many times have you been enjoying your 'leisure activities' only to get distracted by the sudden thoughts of 'Hey, I haven't yet completed XXX. I need to stop procrastinating and get started on it.' Such obsession over being productive prevents us from truly enjoying our leisure activities. I miss the times when I could just dive into a book for the whole day without worrying about 'work on the waiting list'. Even when talking with friends I sometimes feel the urge to leave because I still have work that hasn't been done. I'm sure I'm not the only guilty one here.
Capitalism demands never ending growth; this translates to us always seeking personal development, wanting to earn more money and climb up the corporate ladder. In Singapore, the construction sector is the perfect microcosm of everything wrong with Capitalism. There's no space for a little bit of peace. We're always planning ahead for the next development, taking preemptive steps to protect against potential issues (e.g. raising shoreline by 5m to guard against sea level rise). I definitely concede that I've benefitted from Singapore's relentless pursuit of constant development. Hypocritical, I know. But will there ever be a point where construction stops? It's just plain sad that even from an environment as pristine as Kranji Marshes, tractors could be seen and heard. In fact, deforestation is occurring right next to the Marsh. In plain sight.
I'm not writing this piece to preach solutions. Because I don't have any. But we desperately need to recognise our toxic productivity as an issue and talk about it. If not, the situation will just get worse. To be fully honest, it feels good to be writing this article spontatenously and within 30 minutes. A far cry from my other pieces where I scrutinise the grammar and every single choice of word. Both ways of writing are evidence of my obsession over productivity.
So I'm going to set myself a near-impossible challenge: to remove the words 'time' and 'work' from my vocabulary. Together with any other synonyms or words that allude to these concepts. There's been multiple authors who have postulated that people stop using 'racism' and 'race' when discussing the very issue of racism. Supposedly, this will help people look at the issue(s) from a different perspective. So that's what I'm hoping to learn and gain from this experience. Wish me luck.
How long should I embark on this challenge? One week? Or two? Nah, I think I'll try to adhere to it as long as I feel like it.
Author's note: I wrote this on 6 May between 11pm and 11.53pm. I didn't edit it any further (even typos) after completing it to leave it in a truly original form. It's just one of those 'spur of the moments' where I have a sudden inspiration. Can't deny that I still feel good about how quickly I completed this. Maybe I need a #hustle post. lol. To the future me: am I still obsessed over productivity?
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