Back amongst the Living

Well, that’s taken longer than expected. I think this may be one of the longest breaks I’ve had yet, at least on my English blog. I’m not sure what caused it. Was it the residual exhaustion following the two years of lockdowns? Was it that commuting took more of my energy than I had anticipated? Honestly, I have no clue, I only know that in the time since February 2022, I’ve been as exhausted as never before in my life. I guess the last couple of years in total have left their mark after all, and I certainly haven’t taken enough time off in the past, something I’m definitely looking to rectify this year!

Yet, I’m left to wonder. Given the general sense of apathy and detachment I see all around me these days, have we as a society reached a breaking point? Have we always been this exhausted and it is only now, at the tail end of a pandemic and in the early days of WW3, that we as a species are beginning to realise that some things are very wrong in society? It would certainly be a good thing if this were the case, impending global war or not. Overly extreme self improvement and “hustle culture” certainly seem to be doing more harm than good at this point, whilst the traditional model of work seems to be coming to the end of its tether as well. Will we as a society be able to draw the correct conclusions and enact the correct consequences though? Honestly, I doubt it. I’ve seen nothing in the political & social developments in recent years that would lead me to have any faith in humanity’s ability to do the right thing in any respect!

That leaves the personal sphere. For me personally, I have decided that I will take more time for myself, regardless of how much work may be piling up on my desk. I’ve ruined my mental health twice during my time at Apple, came close during my time at Vmware, I’m not going to repeat that mistake at my current employer! Thankfully, for all their toughness, my employer is actually very understanding in that regard, something that is by no means a given in the current working world, where many companies *cough* Apple *cough* still seem to think that just working for them is a privilege and a benefit in its own right.

However, this will also mean that I will reduce my output on this blog, possibly down to a bi-weekly publication schedule. My latest bout of writer’s block has shown me that I need to take a step back here as well, at least until I’ve gotten a bit more of my writing mojo back. I do have several ideas that I want to expand upon, “hustle culture” being chief among those, but I’ll definitely take my time this time around. One thing is for sure though, this blog will continue. I’ve kept it going for ten years, there’s no reason to stop now!