You are not a machine

Today’s edition of Wishful Working is a 3 minute read.

I considered canceling Wishful Working this week.

I’ve been sick since Saturday, and I didn’t have anything pre-written and ready to send. But lying on my back with my sinuses stuffed gave me a lot of time to think, so I guess I’ll say a few words.

Since I’ve been sick, I’ve been thinking about a video clip I saw a few weeks ago from a certain rightwing political personality and podcaster. 

“You shouldn’t be using sick days,” he says. “With rare exception, taking a sick day as an adult should be pretty embarrassing for you.”

I suspect this, like most of his content, is engagement bait, but I also don’t doubt his earnestness. In fact, his words sound strikingly like my own internal dialogue when I’m sick. 

Whenever I took a sick day throughout my career, I always second-guessed myself, and I always felt like I had to apologize. I worried that my team would be mad about picking up my slack, and I worried that taking time off for illness reflected poorly on my work ethic.

Now that I’m a freelancer, those feelings are different, but they’re not absent. There is still a certain zap of shame that comes with each day I’m not able to muster the energy to sit at my desk. The shame zaps also strike when I feel unable to work for non-physical-illness reasons, like fatigue after a poor night’s sleep, grief over a personal loss, or, idk, all the complicated feelings during a tumultuous election. 

Basically, if you’ve found it difficult to be productive this week, you’re not alone, and you’re not lazy.

Nothing is wrong with you.

Even those of us outside of traditional employment structures are conditioned to be cogs in the machine of capitalism, measuring our worth by our output. 

But you’re not a machine. You’re a human being with human limitations.

Your body and mind are vulnerable and unpredictable, and so are the bodies and minds of the people you care for — your children, partner, friends, family members.

Your productivity and output, or lack thereof, don’t have any impact on your inherent worthiness.

It is hard to claim time for rest, healing, grief, resistance, and community because those things are not “productive” in a capitalistic sense. But they are the things that matter and the things that make us human.

If you have a lot of power over your own schedule and activities, give yourself some space and time for rest. If not, take what space and time you can.

And do it without shame.

Next week, Wishful Working will be written by a special guest, my friend Alexa Phillips! Alexa writes Creatives Anonymous, a weekly newsletter that explores what it means to be a modern-day creative. I’ve been reading Creatives Anonymous since the beginning, and I know you’ll love what she has to say. I’ll be a featured guest in next week’s edition of Creatives Anonymous, so make sure you’re signed up!

See you next week,

Kara

Wishful Working is inspired by my desire to see more people enjoy a life not centered around work. For some, the path to freedom and flexibility is through self-employment, but we also need to challenge cultural norms and champion healthier working conditions and work/life balance for all types of workers.

Who am I? I’m a freelance writer and entrepreneur based in small-town Saskatchewan. I write longform content for B2B clients, and I help founders and independents name their brands and projects at Naming. Connect with me by replying to this email or finding me on LinkedIn or Twitter.