working till the end

As Americans, we have proudly embraced the idea that we should work until we drop. We work overtime, we add side hustles to our day jobs, we scramble to do what we have to make ends meet. What don’t we do? Stop and relax. We just keep pushing through the burnout until we are nothing but a pile of charred ashes.

Reductress, a satirical women’s media website, has put together a bunch of short humor pieces about working in the modern world. Whether it’s looking at burnout through history, encouraging readers to add expletives to their resumes, macrodosing at work to try to see God, or turning your polyamorous relationship into an LLC, there are so many ideas for competing and thriving with your job, your side hustle, your wellness, and your free time.

Are you looking for a new #grindset? Do you want to create passive-aggressive income? Are you willing to turn your chronic illness into a personal brand? Can you translate your college skills of avoiding classwork and lying to classmates and professors to your new 9-to-5 job? Are you willing to sell out the environment in order to make some quick money? Can you and your best friends perform dental work on each other because none of you have insurance? If you answered yes to any of these, then you just may have what it takes to pay your rent.

Reductress has turned the irony all the way up for this one, and while not all of these pieces are for every reader, I think every reader can find something that makes them feel seen and heard. Work today is difficult, and knowing that there are others suffering too helps. How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending is a celebration of our biggest grievances, an airing of what is making us miserable, a vision board of bad advice and unhelpful insights that kept us feeling like we’re failing, even though it is the system that’s failing us.

Anyone who has a job or four these days, who struggles to pay for rent or health insurance, or who thinks a 401K is a really long race can find some comfort in these pages and laugh at their depression, anxiety, and burnout, at least until it’s time to go back to work. I know I had a lot of fun with this book and the way it brought some lightness and camaraderie to my burnout, and I was reminded that self-care is not a dirty word, even if I might not talk about it at work. Share it with your #girlfriends as you talk about the #girlboss at the #girlboffice (or, you know, over drinks and snacks).

Egalleys for How to Stay Productive When the World is Ending were provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.