People Who Aren't Getting Anything Done Are Helping Me Out

I'm always alert for my sister paradoxes. And here's a lively one: people who aren't getting anything done are helping me out.

First off, of course, staying home has been of major assistance in reducing the intensity of the coronavirus pandemic. It looks like a good portion of regions have started flattening the curve. Here in Washington state, we may yet keep acute cases from overwhelming our hospitals and especially our supply of respirators. May it be so! We'll need to continue the efforts and we might just assure that everyone who needs intensive care can get it. Other well-governed regions are managing as well. This massive achievement comes largely from not getting anything done: not going out, not meeting up, not traveling, not doing the work and play we usually do within coughing distance of each other.

Second, while staying home has made a hit to my productivity, a number of generous souls have also admitted they aren't getting anything done. I particularly liked this tweet from author and book reviewer Gabino Iglesias:

"Everyone has a book in them, but it takes a special kind of freak to leave the Land of Laziness, cross the Plains of Procrastination & Insecurity Mountain, kill the fear demons, find the Blade of No One Made You Do This, & use it to slice their chest open and yank that book out."

He's new to me, and his Twitter feed shows a rich way with words.

Then there's Neil Gaiman, long one of my favorite authors, talking about failing to write a book, failing to write a screenplay, and failing to identify chickens. He looks a bit down, and as usual, he's giving gifts: https://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/1247477244332654595?s=20

At first, I was underwhelmed by this offering, and it continued to grow on me. If one of the world's most celebrated authors can not act... so can I.

I began to feel better as others told their stories of not getting anything done.

Third, when I do need to go out, empty streets, clean air, and half-filled supermarkets have all made it easier to gather food and pick up prescriptions. Thank you to everyone who wasn't driving or shopping at those times.

I could extend this list indefinitely. I'm getting less junk mail, and I appreciate those who aren't sending it. I'm liking seeing more hobbies in my social media. I'm glad emissions are down, if only temporarily, and we have pretty pictures of cities without smog. Let me finish up with the most consequential reason people who aren't getting anything done are helping me out.

Fourth, I and we are getting a look at how much we do that we don't really need. It has been easy for me and us to pile up activities and push for more, and more, and more. Because I was doing them, I didn't stop to think if I needed to do them. And, partly due to the current slowdown, I discovered I was fatigued and overextended and not enjoying this lifestyle very much. Maybe others are seeing that now, too.

I'd really like for us to continue doing fewer things in favor of making sure everyone has the basics. We are ambitious – we'll probably continue to extend what "the basics" are over time. Even so, this has been a great sanity check on what we really need. And that might just be the enlightenment we need to refocus on making sure everyone has it.