Our routine burns us out

Today, there are a zillion ways to pass time compared to my childhood where I grew up without cable TV, computer, internet, or a smartphone. But, despite having everything, I’m disinterested or distracted most of the time.

At one point, I seriously doubted if I had a medical condition. I’d even googled to see if I have attention deficit disorder. And, like most google search adventures, it supported my view. Well done, Google!

At first, I thought it was just me. But, later, when talking to a friend, I realized others have also felt it. They’re tired, distracted, and feel burned out.

Made me wonder why this is happening to us!

It is because it is the first time in our lives we’ve lived so long at our homes. Since our childhood, we’d always wandered around – school, college, job, meeting friends, going to a concert, a picnic lunch etc.

We stayed out for a huge part of our day and came back home in the evening. The same worked for homemakers. Everyone left home, and they often had the house to themselves. Home was our sanctuary. It was a big part of our routine, but we didn’t realize it. Home was never a burden, until the pandemic.

During the pandemic, we realized that instead of becoming a sanctuary, home had become a prison. We started to realize our routine we never knew existed. We got up, got ready, and stayed home. We started to feel the burden of this routine, and it wore us out. Result? We feel burned out. And with nothing else to do except stare at our screens all day, our mind is finding a way out. This causes disinterest and distraction.

Is there a way to fix it? I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out. Maybe it is a phase. Things will become alright once the world gets back on track. I badly hope it does.