Using COVID-19 time to be productive or NOT
Well, most of you have seen the following memes.
One directly contradicts with the other one. So what are you going to do? For me, that decision is not up to the person who made the damn meme. It is up to you.
So let’s break this down.
One says to be productive and learn to grow. That is a scenario we all like to do or even envisioned.
The other is not so popular. But sometimes it’s the reality. Sometimes you have more pressing matters.
Think for a moment about those who are underprivileged.
In COVID-19 era where we are locked inside our homes, some of us cannot afford to learn a new skill when your loved ones are hungry. There are people who depended on daily wages. Now they are cut out from their lifeline. How could they afford to come out better than they were !!! when their basic needs are not fulfilled according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
So if you are a person who shares all of those social media content. Think again. What is the message that you are sending them? Just remember who are you sending the message to.
For those who complain about work from home
Then there is the other half who are privileged, who have their basic needs met. I would say for you, there is no excuse. There is no excuse to say I don’t have time because all you have is time. I have heard some comments from my friends. I was disappointed to hear those. They are simply saying that now employer giving more work, well stand up for that(well work from home is new to Sri Lanka and I believe employers are exploiting that to meet their own goals, more of that later in a separate blog).
For those who are lost
Then there are people who are clueless about what to do. They don’t have any idea how to utilize time. Well, that’s okay. Your routines got disrupted. You are disoriented. You are confused. I was one of them.
I had a lot planned for 2020. I had travel plans, work from abroad plans, travel and work plans. I could go on. Then this COVID-19 happened. I was sad, I was angry, I was simply disappointed. I didn’t want to deal with those feelings, so I distracted myself with online gaming.
I would play online games for 7–8 hours a day.
The only thing that kept me sane was working out. Then I realized that I had enough. I took a look at how I spend my time. I created a transition map from being a gaming junkie to a more productive person. The goal is simple. Be more productive than yesterday. That means do one thing more than yesterday.
The JOURNEY of Self Growth
This is called gradual increments within a longer period of time. This adds up. Small things add up. Next thing you know, you are super productive.
At the end of the day, you can’t post a meme and say I am better than the rest. I would be a better version of myself than yesterday. Because that’s just pure hypocritical bs.
However, it is a journey. It is a very personal journey and it happens slowly. A journey towards self-growth that comes within. You need to understand where you are. This takes a lot of self-reflection and being very honest with yourself. It makes you very vulnerable inside. In order to accept that we are doing something wrong is very hard. It will hit you in the gut.
For everyone out there who look at those motivational quotes, don’t give in to it first. Understand your reality because your reality is everything to you. Asses it. Find out where you can do a small marginal improvement. Then keep doing that every day. There will be days you won’t feel it. That’s okay. Push through it, if not take a small break. However, don’t make that break to be a habit. That is dangerous.
So I am leaving you with this. A quote from wise Gandalf to Sam Frodo.
Till next one, Cya!