Musings on Pandemic Productivity while Grappling with Reality

Haifa Maryam

19/UELA/039

As soon as the COVID 19 pandemic began, restaurants and malls shut down, countries closed off borders, flights grounded, schools and colleges were closed and all of our worlds contracted to fit the confines of our homes. Some of us were fortunate to have such a home, others, not so much.

I, like many other comfortably privileged people, took to my screens initially as the preferred mode of dealing with this new normal. Soon enough, I was bored and my screen space was bombarded with ideas about things to do for a productive quarantine.

For a while, I tried out a few of those, from whipping out a Dalgona coffee to painting a mural to dabbling in jam making. And for a while, all of this was fun to do. Exhausted by academic routine, I welcomed the seemingly abundant free time with much zest and vigour.

My enthusiasm was however short-lived and overwhelmed by the ceaseless race to productivity that was projected everywhere on social media by almost everyone.

There seemed to be a competition of sorts that measured how productive we were. Are you utilizing your time in the absolute best ways? How many Coursera courses did you complete? Did you begin on your summer internship? How many books did you read in 4 months? Did you learn a new language or skill? Did you workout regularly and stay in shape? Did you call and catch up with your school friends?

I mean, who hasn’t seen one of these inspiring (or should I say threatening) posts and stories on their friends’ feeds?

"If you don't come out from this lockdown without being skilled or having more knowledge; remember you never lacked time, you lacked discipline."

Or this one:

“This pandemic is going to show you who your real friends are. Pay attention to who reaches out and who disappears.”

Social Media became increasingly overwhelming. Or maybe it always has been and I only noticed it this quarantine season.

But the reality is, we are all in a literal pandemic. Everybody is confused and uncertain about everything. Life as we knew it has come to an end, certainly. The times are tough and surely stranger than ever. Nobody knows what is next or what to do about it.

We are all afraid yet bored, angry yet grateful, frustrated yet strangely peaceful all at the same time right now. We are all different and have different distinct ways of coping with this unprecedented situation of circumstances.

So it is better (and easier for all) to normalize being unproductive and unmotivated sometimes as much as how some of us may prefer being over-productive and throw ourselves in work. And perhaps normalize shutting off and taking a social media detox once a while. Remember, these aren’t the times you need necessarily to make the most of, only those you need to just get through.

A few weeks ago, a video of a young boy’s failed attempt at crafting a paper flower went viral particularly here in Kerala. The video shows young Faiz, attempting to make an origami flower and when things didn’t go according to his plan, the resilient boy full of innocence and zeal, said in his endearing northern Malabar accent, “Chelolthu readyiavum; chelolthu readyavula. Entethu readyayilya. ..… enganeyayalu nammakku oru koypam ilya.”

His words inspired millions of netizens all over the world, struggling with the pandemic and its side effects. I think it is also befitting to our musings here on pandemic productivity, so here’s the translation for all non-Malayali folks:

Some may get it right, others might not. I did not get it right... however it is, that is not a problem for me.