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Dear Friend,
“So life mostly sucks right now, plain and simple.… Slowly, and rightfully, the shock and surreality of the pandemic is setting in across the United States.” TNR’s Nick Martin reminded us that “more work, maybe the single most constant feature of American adulthood, is not the answer. Neither is more needless productivity.”
His simple idea struck a nerve, attracting a quarter-million page views. “For those with the privilege and ability to conduct their work from home,” Martin wrote, “the coming weeks should be a time to focus on ourselves, our communities, and our loved ones.”
These are frightening times. “It should be a time to do nothing,” Martin argued, “and produce little without the accompanying feeling of guilt or panic caused by a ping from a higher-up that you should be doing more as the rest of your world slowly cranks to a halt.”
“Managers at The Wall Street Journal instructed newly remote workers to answer work chat messages ‘within just a few minutes’ and to leave cameras on during videoconference meetings, as if there’s some productivity or accountability benefit to letting your boss see what the couch in your apartment looks like....”
“Some of us, the fortunate among us, have a kind of time now that may feel new. It can allow us a second to be true to ourselves and our emotions, or to turn away from ourselves and toward care for others, or both at the same time. You don’t have to write your novel. You don’t have to reorganize your closet.”
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As Martin put it: “Burying yourself in mindless busywork is not the solution. So, go ahead, turn the video function off when your boss calls.”
