Office workers would be working from home, restaurants were closed, events were canceled.
Suddenly, whether you were working or not, there just werent as many places to be.
Hello, free time.
Except that time hasnt turned out to be free, has it?
If your kids are home, theyve probably been interrupting you every five minutes.
If you live with a partner or roommate, theyre probably driving you up the wall by now.
And even if you are in blissful solitudeit aint that blissful.
We are in the middle of a pandemic.
Or at the beginning of one, if were going to be totally honest.
This is why you cant concentrate on a book for more than half a page.
I cant, anyway.
Ive barely made it through one chapter, and dont ask me what was in that chapter.
I think there are a few things going on here.
Partly, its hard to focus when youre anxious about the state of the world.
But another aspect is that everything we know about trying to unwind has been turned on its head.
Forget unplugging, for example.
I constantly feel like Im going to be needed somewhere.
And this isnt exactly a problem: Iwantto be there for those people.
I have the same desire to connect with others, to be useful in the world.
Before the plague, I was reading plenty.
That included a textbook I was diligently studying.
I was also journaling regularly, noodling on possible future book topics.
Theres nothing stopping me from doing any of these things now, except … well, you know.
Its okay to be this way, and its okay to be honest about that.
Im relaxing now the same way most of you are, I think.
Playing games that dont take too much brainpower.
Having a beer more evenings than not.
I dont have a life hack to get through this.
Exercise helps, I guess.
Diving into whatever hobby your brain still has room for.
I just wanted to let you know, if youre feeling this way, youre not alone.
