Why Are You Panic-Working? Try This Instead

Just two days after the French government’s lockdown went into effect, the bakery in my village outside Paris started rationing baguettes. The limit of five per family per day is still a lot of bread, but it is disconcerting that anyone is trying to stockpile the most perishable of loafs.

I can’t judge them, however. Although I haven’t been panic-buying, I have been panic-working. From home, of course, where we are all now confined. The first day, I decided that this spell of seclusion would be an opportunity to cleanse my inbox of unanswered messages. I then made a list of pending projects, figuring I could cram two new ones into this unexpectedly sick spring. I took part in hastily scheduled Zoom meetings, checked in on a client, and bantered with colleagues in several new WhatsApp groups. I had learned from my research on gig workers that boundaries are key when working from home, so I stuck to a schedule, took breaks for family meals, and helped the kids with their homework. By the time I went to bed at 3 a.m. after binging on the news, I was exhausted, edgy and miserable.