It’s OK to Work on Nothing.

Life is more than just work.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

I’m fairly busy nowadays. I freelance and teach. I’m working on my YouTube and Facebook web series Black History for Everyone. I’m about to attach myself to a couple of full-length documentaries this year. I am known in my professional circles to be a hustler and all-around “get shit done”-er. And I’m still recovering from a major car accident. So why do I still feel guilty when I decide to spend the day binge-watching Law & Order: SVU while wearing sweatpants and no bra?

I feel guilty because I don’t consider it a money-making activity. I feel guilty because somehow, I’m attempting to convince myself I should spend my free time skill-building at least. I even have it marked down in my schedule and on my project management software. I feel guilty because I have been conditioned like most of us today to work until I physically can’t.

I’ve always been a person who is happier when busy. I don’t like it when I have nothing to do. My anxiety kicks in and I start looking for things to do. Anything. Those books on my shelf look like they need organizing.

But I also work in the arts and media fields where everyone is always looking to their next project. And if you are not, that can kill your career faster than if you were actually caught doing something illegal (cough-Bryan…