Poll of the Day > Sudden realization about post-COVID life.

(+) Yeah! (+)

If you all aren't fully aware, I've had the same job for around 4.5 years now and I am terrified of getting a new one because this one is 100% remote (except for the rare time I walk down to the office every 6-ish months).

But lately, I feel like me (and everyone around me) have basically turned into robots. Do the same thing every week. No deviation. No fun allowed. This is not exclusive to my job either. I'm seeing this affect other people around me as well. It also seems to be spreading out to other things like hobbies. FOMO is really big and has been for a while. The fear of deviating from your normal routine is real.

Is anyone else experiencing this? It's basically this nonstop tunnel vision. Always some carrot that you HAVE to chase, and not much you can do about it.

Judgmenl posted...

Always some carrot that you HAVE to chase, and not much you can do about it.

That's not a bad thing, having goals is what life is about, why do you think healthy people suddenly start having problems when they retire and have nothing to gain anymore?

That's more middle age than it is post-COVID, really...but adding work/stay at home all day to the mix doesn't help. I don't fear deviating from my routine/FOMO...but the problem is I can't really think of anything great to DO other than my routine. There's nobody to do anything truly interesting with and a lot of the stuff that used to be fun isn't much anymore (partially COVID's fault, partially not).

I got into mountain biking, which is...OK (outside of the injuries). I'm trying to write a book, but I'm not fully into it. Eh.

I have so much of my daily routine scheduled by the minute and it's starting to really annoy me. Get up at 5. Feed the dogs. Then I'm free to do whatever I want between 6 and 7:30. At 7:30 take care of the dogs again. At 8 I have an hour meeting. At 9 I have a half hour meeting. Work until 5 or 6. Catch up with reading posts and maybe watch something between 6 and 11. Then repeat.

Weekends are still chasing my childhood. Find something I enjoy on Friday, I end up hating it on Sunday. No time to think, I need to fully min-max my free time. No time to just chill out. Realized that this was the first time in months I did my "Just chill out and read threads" thing.

Only thing I've noticed about jobs is all the local staff are being replaced over and over. I've seen it since 2016. It's like there's no lifers. All the food lions or fast food joints are kicking people out and hiring new people. The only joints with the same folks are walmart and this one burger king I rarely go to. Oh and the girls at the dmv.

I asked the manager what happened to my ex-employees at Food Lion and he said he wasn't at liberty to discuss it. The other manager said it was a dispute off the record. Yeah well, you seem to be having a lot of these "disputes"

The only difference I've noticed is that I can't find things in stores. I think the local grocery store has stopped selling juice all together. The last time I was there I only saw sodas and sports drinks.

can't relate. I'm actually just starting getting into a normal routine this week after half a year which I'm enjoying. But still, mix it up after work and on weekends.

Judgmenl posted...

Is anyone else experiencing this? It's basically this nonstop tunnel vision. Always some carrot that you HAVE to chase, and not much you can do about it.

Yeah, pretty much. I like to live pretty stripped down and ignore the carrot, but somewhere it went wrong.

no

tbh, going from remote to in-office again has been absolutely dreadful, even though I have the ability to start my day a bit later than other people. That kinda offsets the inconvenience of not being remote, but... idk.

I loved having a perfectly quiet work environment.

Judgmenl posted...

Is anyone else experiencing this? It's basically this nonstop tunnel vision. Always some carrot that you HAVE to chase, and not much you can do about it.

You always have some bizarre side-thing going on. I'll mention my thing is more that IRL everything kinda shut down under COVID and it feels like a lot of that stuff never really picked up again because people got used to new routines. However, it wasn't some "carrot" or anything of the sort.

As far as FOMO goes, that's more breaks from routines. My assistant who doesn't like beaches went out of state over the long weekend to a beach like 4-5 hours away despite not liking beaches because of FOMO.

Straughan posted...

All the food lions or fast food joints are kicking people out and hiring new people.

With the job market right now, they're probably quitting rather than getting fired.

I dont get FOMO anymore because I realized at the end of the day, Im always going to be missing out on something somewhere. Its not possible to experience everything. Once you accept youll always be missing out on something, you then have more power to curate the actual experiences you *want* to have

I work in healthcare, not a single night is the same and things are rarely boring.

Ive learned how to have fun both by staying in by myself or going out and doing stuff. Its definitely amazing, and I think more people really need to learn how to do the same. Youll be a LOT happier.

FOMO isn't stressing over keeping your routine together, it's when your friends are doing something fun, or there's a rare event happening in your town, and you aren't participating but wish you were

Judgmenl posted...

But lately, I feel like me (and everyone around me) have basically turned into robots. Do the same thing every week. No deviation. No fun allowed.

This was pretty much cubicle life for the last 70 years or so, so it's hardly a post-Covid thing.



Judgmenl posted...

FOMO is really big and has been for a while. Always some carrot that you HAVE to chase, and not much you can do about it.

And this has pretty much been conspicuous consumerism for the last 70 years or so, so that's not really a post-Covid thing either.



Judgmenl posted...

The fear of deviating from your normal routine is real. It's basically this nonstop tunnel vision.

And this is a getting old thing. It's what people mean when they talk about getting stuck in a rut.

Congrats! You're starting to crest into your midlife crisis. Welcome to existential ennui!

Makes me think of this:

https://i.redd.it/shxslcl4usn21.png

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Congrats! You're starting to crest into your midlife crisis. Welcome to existential ennui!

PO continue being you.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

This was pretty much cubicle life for the last 70 years or so, so it's hardly a post-Covid thing.

And this has pretty much been conspicuous consumerism for the last 70 years or so, so that's not really a post-Covid thing either.

And this is a getting old thing. It's what people mean when they talk about getting stuck in a rut.

Congrats! You're starting to crest into your midlife crisis. Welcome to existential ennui!

Pretty much all of this. It's nothing to do with Covid, it's just you getting bored with your life. Covid may have distracted you from the fact that you were settling into a routine because it did so much to shake up everyone's routines, but you were well on your way to this before Covid.

It doesn't sound like you're lacking free time, necessarily, so if you're unhappy with how you're spending it, try spending it differently. Try some new things, maybe look into therapy to help you get over the perfectionism that's driving you to min/max your time (especially where you've got so much free time; you don't need to min/max that), try travelling or even moving somewhere else... You're fortunate enough to be in a position where you've got quite a lot of flexibility. The only thing keeping you in that rut is yourself.

Judgmenl posted...

PO continue being you.

I shan't ever stop.

Well no, I'll probably stop when I keel over dead, but until then I'll continue being the eternal rock upon which all storms break, timeless and unchanging.

I would suggest it may not be a good idea for particularly introverted people to have nearly zero human contact by working from home. interacting with people sucks, but it is necessary for your psychological health IMO.

Sahuagin posted...

I would suggest it may not be a good idea for particularly introverted people to have nearly zero human contact by working from home. interacting with people sucks, but it is necessary for your psychological health IMO.

Meh, I was living in isolation before COVID, still living in isolation now, probably going to continue for the foreseeable future.

#hermitlife

I recommend having more mentally ill friends. We are all very exciting people.

Sahuagin posted...

I would suggest it may not be a good idea for particularly introverted people to have nearly zero human contact by working from home. interacting with people sucks, but it is necessary for your psychological health IMO.

Same

Well, time to continue working from home

I'm glad I keep interesting friends. I make time for them outside of work, but the 40 hour work week really does drain me a lot. Thankfully my new coworkers are actually pretty fascinating people. My 2 years of online school in a different city felt a bit robotic actually, although thankfully there were still lab days to interact with people. It was robotic because I was in survival mode for those two years - I found the city I was in to be fairly unwelcoming and devoid of culture.

ReturnOfFa posted...

I found the city I was in to be fairly unwelcoming and devoid of culture.

no fun city

Muscles posted...

That's not a bad thing, having goals is what life is about, why do you think healthy people suddenly start having problems when they retire and have nothing to gain anymore?

Eh, my carrots are what I get in my entertainment.

I beat this hard level in Max Payne, I'm rewarded with some really interesting dialogue.