Midnight Musings - Burnout is Bad. Hobbies are Good.
Hobbies: I recommend them.
Thank you so much for your patience as I took a (mostly unintentional) break from the newsletter. Now January is over, I’m feeling better, and I want to get back to it!
As a young millennial, I came of age during a particular moment of what you might call “Hustle Culture.” In what I see as a desperate reaction to the 2008 recession and the rise of the gig economy, hustling became the perceived modus operandi of success. What is hustling? Essentially, it’s working constantly. To be successful, you gotta hustle— rise and grind, hack your productivity, monetize everything, work every second of the day hustle. This is the culture that tells you to “go above and beyond” at work (despite the fact that you’re not paid to do so), that says unpaid internships are worth it for the experience, that encourages you to do things “for exposure.”
This phenomenon is just capitalism at its worst. It’s society aiming to juice every bit of labor out of people for no additional cost. It’s a way for those in power to place blame on individuals, and to celebrate their own privilege as hard work. If you are struggling in your career, this mindset says, it’s your fault and your fault alone. Even with a recession and a terrible job market and increasingly high cost of living, it’s your fault for not working hard enough. And while the surging labor movement post-Covid is helping address some of this flawed thinking, it remains pervasive.
I think there is a particular brand of hustle culture that exists in talent-based industries, especially the arts. Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers was published in 2008—the same time all of the recession hustle-culture was really beginning to flourish— and of course his “10,000 Hours” rule caught hold of society like a virus. 10,000 hours of practice, he said, it all you need to become successful at something. This concept puts all the control (and later, all the blame) in the court of the individual, even when art, in particular, is far more complicated than just “practice = success.”
I have a vivid memory of my dad talking about the flaws in the 10,000 Hour rule back in 2008, right after he finished Outliers. He hated how oversimplified it was. For example, if you’re not practicing well or not practicing the right things, you’re just going to continue doing things wrong for all those hours. Talent, of course, is a major factor, as is your teacher and your resources and your opportunities. 15 years later, Gladwell’s book can pretty easily be dismissed as pop-psychology bullshit, but the idea that hard work directly translates into success remains.
It’s quite personal to me, because Hustle Culture has an absolute chokehold on the film and media industries. I cannot count the number of times I that I was given advice from professionals (usually straight white men) that essentially amounted to “just live off a credit card and work for free.” I’ve been to panels of film professionals where they say that if you need health insurance… too bad, maybe the industry just isn’t for you. I’ve listened to podcasts where professionals have encourage young filmmakers to max out several credit cards to make an Oscar-qualifying short film. Overwhelmingly, I was told that I needed to eat, sleep, and breath my artistic practice in order to succeed.
When I graduated last year, I was so exhausted that I never wanted to write another screenplay again. After struggling to find the project or movie that would again spark my creativity, I gave up. I started pursuing other hobbies. I spent the summer making jewelry and going swimming.
And let me tell you: hobbies are wonderful things.
Since the summer, my creative well has slowly been filling back up. And I… well, I’ve become a more interesting and well-rounded person. I have so many things I can go to that bring me joy. I’m discovering more and more of the world, meeting new people, and trying new things. And—surprise!— becoming less myopic is not only making my life better, but leading me back to screenwriting.
The world is bigger and brighter outside the grind, and I think it’s important to take stock and remember that our purpose in life isn’t to work. I unfortunately cannot decree that the workweek should only be 25-30 hours long, but we can stop letting work—no matter how much we enjoy it— monopolize our lives. I can still be a writer when I’m not writing. I deserve to enjoy the time I’ve been given. Hobbies are an easy way to start.
Hobbies: I recommend them.
Here are some hobbies I’m pursuing right now:
Puzzles! Perhaps the most basic of hobbies, but turns out it’s nice to have something to do with your hands while you chat with someone or watch some 1960s TV shows (my boyfriend and I are on a Star Trek and Twilight Zone kick). Instead of buying puzzles, we’ve borrowed some that our friends and family have in their closets. Puzzle exchange, anyone?
Sushi making! I love sushi, and have wished I could bring it into my day-to-day diet. It’s such a fresh, balanced meal! I decided it’s time for me to make it a reality. I went to the local Asian supermarket over the weekend to gather ingredients, and ordered a little rice maker and bamboo mat. I will hopefully update you with my first attempts later this week!
Thrifting! When moving last year, I took so many clothes to the thrift store. I forced myself to examine why I was trapped in the wasteful fast-fashion cycle. This year, I’m committed to only buying second-hand clothing if I buy any at all (it’s my only real 2023 resolution). I’m going on a major trip and will be in a wedding party this summer, so there are definitely some challenges, but I’m excited to meet them. It’s fun to go through the racks and find a gem, or see that someone has posted the perfect item on a second-hand website.
Making a Cookbook! Now that I live somewhere with an actually useably-sized kitchen and a dishwasher (!), I’ve been enjoying cooking so much. My boyfriend and I take turns playing sous-chef to the other, and we’ve made some truly delicious meals. I’ve decided I’m going to compile all of our best recipes, gussy them up in Zinnia, and then print and bind a copy at the end of the year.
Continuing with my Etsy store! I’ve loved sharing the jewelry I craft, and it’s great to have a way to subsidize the costs of this hobby.
What are your favorite hobbies? What do you want to get into? Let me know!
I love all of this!!! I do puzzles too! ❤️