The Lie of Constant Productivity and Why the Human Race Needs to Relearn Humanity and Chill Out
It’s been a year since I’ve been out of the job, and in said year, I’ve been job-searching, writing hundreds of cover letters, revamping my CV, learning new skills, and feeling frustrated when companies didn’t even have the courtesy to tell me “No.” (Not all of the companies — some of the representatives were actually really nice. But a lot of them just ghosted.)
Which led to my conflicting feelings towards cover letters, but that’s a whole ‘nother story for another time.
Now, I want to talk about the false idea we’ve embedded in our zeitgeist about “productivity.” Ah, yes, the buzzword that hundreds of hustle bros and boss queens just love to flaunt – preaching about their ways of constantly working, and how they’re always fruitful in their endeavors. Because they’ve worked so very hard and should get standing ovations for it.
Which would make someone doing the work without being paid look like a lazy bum with zero initiative in comparison. At least, that’s the idea we’ve been sold.
Okay, hang on one sec: I don't care about people's lifestyle choices and how they choose to show up publicly. But we need to remember that whatever we post on social media is curated. Heck, my posts are curated. Do you think I’d post all of my thoughts like I used to back in my early 20s? No.
But I’m breaking my own rule just this once because we need to talk about this.
I don’t know where this idea came from, that people need to be constantly producing things they can show off, or better yet, monetize. And not just ordinary, everyday things. But great things.
And it’s turning into a game of chance: if you’re constantly productive every single day, you’re bound to come up with something great, right? It’s simple math; a basic game of probability.
But when we’re so obsessed with churning out “products” every waking hour of our lives, we forget to take in what’s already around us. We forget to slow down because everyone else is in a rush, so we need to be in a rush too!
(Malaysians: I’m looking at you. The number of traffic accidents here is insane. We need to slow down for a second and address the root of the problem.)
And I’ve experienced it too. I was, at one point, afraid of becoming bored. Of being idle in silence.
So, what happened to us exactly?
As a child, I remember being bored constantly. We didn’t have Netflix back in my day, so the shows I could watch – and when I could watch them – were decided by local broadcasters. And what the heck was the internet back then, anyway? “The Net” (1995) felt like a sci-fi flick when I was a kid and I feared the World Wide Web instead of embracing it like youngsters are these days.
But that limitation pushed me to create my own fun, which sparked my love for telling stories. I remember acting out plays with my toys (Polly Pocket + Lego = endless fun), and I’d “perform” them with my grandfather as my audience. (One time, I played next to him while he was napping and didn’t realize he was awake. He later told my mom that it was like having three people with me because I was “voice-acting.” 😂)
I wouldn’t have discovered my love for stories if it weren’t for those idle moments.
So, why are we expected to maximize productivity all the time? Even at the cost of exhaustion and burnout? Are we expected to become machines and create things without questioning what we’re doing and why?
Speaking of machines: have we not connected the dots that even maximizing machine production is detrimental to the world? Fast fashion, fast food, fast everything.
Millions of products end up in landfills either broken (because quality has been decidedly removed from the equation) or never been used. Imagine that. New products are just thrown away and treated as garbage because we’re now making room for the next trendy thing, and that’s because we’ve overproduced the last trendy thing which has now turned into slop.
Is this how we measure progress now?
Why are we in this crazy rush?
There’s enough to go around if we just pause and listen.
Yes, I admit, as someone struggling to find a job, that money is super important. But never at the cost of humanity. Never at the cost of peace and sustainability.
And if we keep treating each other – fellow human beings – like statistics and numbers on a chart, then there won’t be room for human growth, ingenuity, and creativity (base word for “creativity” is “to create,” for goodness’ sake).
I know I’m not alone in this. That’s why I’m being open and why I’m sharing this with you. I still believe in hope. And I still believe in us.
Slight tangent because I don’t know how to smoothly segue into this last point but I think it’s still relevant: Sure, if Atlas decided to shrug off his duties, the world might be thrown into a moment of chaos. However, on the flip side, his very existence and purpose would be rendered moot without the people he’s “carrying” – reducing a titan into a meaningless, solitary creature. Fun to watch, maybe, but utterly pointless.
Read that again.
#WriteOn
Zubaidah
#GameWriting #GameDev #Storytelling #IndieDev #AmWriting #Productivity #CreativeBurnout #HumanFirst