This article honestly changed everything for me. It articulates a number of issues I’ve been dealing with and struggled to explain to both myself and others.
If you’re a millennial and struggling, you will probably benefit from this article. It’s worth reading start to finish despite the length, as it just keeps throwing important, useful stuff out there!
That being said, I’m going to try to distill it so as to make it more accessible:
- There is a type of burnout unrelated to one’s work, but instead all those little tasks one has to do as an adult (”adulting”). Dealing with insurance. Registering to vote. Returning unwanted clothes. Errands, paperwork, you name it. You can be highly motivated and enjoy your work, but when it comes to your to do list, you get this awful paralysis you can’t shake.
- We aren’t being lazy when we are paralyzed by tasks on our to do list; there are very specific reasons we’re reacting this way—namely, millennial burnout.
- We are trying to “win” the system, even though the system is unwinnable. This, of course, is a bit of a bait-and-switch, since we were told that if we studied hard and went to college we’d be able to have stable careers and a comfortable life with a home, family, 401k, etc.
- A lot of us optimize our time and productivity to extremes (which, of course, would be on top of the optimizing spoonies have to do to keep afloat with limited spoons). We believe that if we just optimize right, we’ll finally be able to reach our goals and escape this hell.
- Self care is often offered as a way to relieve the burnout, but it tends to just encourage this self-optimization. It’s also a hugely profitable industry.
- Our generation is working through and past the burnout because we have to, and that increases our value to corporations, who continue to encourage the same old behaviors and sell us more “self care” strategies.
- What can we do about all this? Well, not much aside from huge social change. But knowing about it and talking about it is half the battle.
Do note that there’s been lots of discussion and critique of this essay, particular in relation to its limitations in relevance/appropriateness to disabled folks and people of color race and disability. If you want to really deepen your understanding, definitely take to Twitter, Tumblr, and Medium and search “Millennial Burnout.”
Heavy stuff. But hugely important stuff.❤️, Editor Diane
p.s. Want more sweet, sweet discourse? Try “Life-Hacks of the Poor and Aimless” for some academic real talk that completely dismantles the self care movement and its insidious connections with our toxic society and political climate.
(via love-lays-bleeding)
