The byline, the brain and COVID-19
When I awoke from my Sudafed induced Thanksgiving nap, and my sinuses returned from turkeys back into their normal shape, my thoughts turned to trying to play catch up and get a head start on the week ahead during an unfathomable holiday weekend.
The to do list in my mind was not all that long — I’d finally get around to writing this monthly piece so I could meet my self-imposed end of the month deadline, followed by a couple of networking emails. Then, my thoughts turn to other things — some networking requests along with ideas for freelance pitches, followed by ideas on how I can expand this space to incorporate more reporting and features instead of purely being dominated by essays.
Meanwhile, as the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving came and went, a folder in my email continued to fill up with job application acknowledgments and messages with the same refrain: “We have not decided to move forward with your application.”
For any early career journalist, it is a balancing act — the balance of not only keeping up an active portfolio but also pounding the pavement — trying to not only connect with people but get as much insight as possible. It is a balance that can be just as rewarding as it is frustrating, and is also easier said than done.
This balance has become harder and harder to accomplish during life in the midst of COVID-19, as not only layoffs continue in journalism, but companies and newsrooms are delaying employees’ return to the office until at least next summer, including The New York Times and the Texas Tribune, while some companies consider following the route of Microsoft and others in letting some employees work from home permanently.
Indeed, making sure everything else gets accomplished, and having the resources, fiscal or otherwise, to complete one’s daily routine, has become part of the balance. Worry and anxiety become the norm, and imposter syndrome runs rampant in your head. You channel your inner Basil Fawlty as you’re vexed with life and can’t take it anymore.
A feeling of worry becomes a feeling of being overwhelmed, and you and I become convinced, in the midst of so much uncertainty, that we as individuals are at fault in spite of our best efforts.
First, take this advice from journalist and longtime newsroom leader Holly Epstein Ojalvo:
“Rather than obsess over intrusive negative thoughts, remind yourself that it happened during a crushing global pandemic that is upending the entire economy. The virus didn’t single you out.” — Holly Epstein Ojalvo, The New York Times, June 21, 2020
So, the magical question then becomes this— how can one be productive (or feel productive) while the circumstances of the world we live in suggest otherwise?
The best answer comes from my mom — what is the one thing that you can do today that is a step forward? It doesn’t have to be multiple things, just one thing — whether its sending that email to connect or writing something — one thing that can move yourself forward.
You may be moved to do more than one thing — maybe as a result of motivation, a result of pressure or a desire to get as much done as possible. If you manage to do more than one thing, great, and if you don’t, that’s fine too. You got something done today nonetheless — and that is the equivalent of productivity in the midst of overwhelming anxiety.
Much has changed during the course of the year, and there is much uncertainty as one looks ahead to 2021. Yet, even as things continue to evolve and uncertainty continues to be dominant, one can still make a success of taking on difficult tasks like networking or creating quality pieces of work. It doesn’t have to be done all in one day, and just being able to cross one thing off the ever lengthening to do-list is an accomplishment itself.
Journalism is an industry where those who work in it help the people who are most important — the audience — to be at their best, and that can only be accomplished when journalists themselves are at their best, including pacing themselves.
