System Status: Running. Barely.
CPU Usage: 97%
Memory Leaks Detected
Executing survival protocol…
Let me get one thing straight: I don’t have a side hustle. I don’t have five freelance gigs. I have one full-time job — and it’s already burning me to the edge.
And somehow, that’s seen as a failure in today’s remote work culture.
🧠 What My Day Actually Looks Like
I’m a QA Lead and PM for a remote company. That means I juggle bugs, deadlines, sprint boards, people problems, and last-minute scope creep — all while pretending like I’ve got it under control.
When 5 PM hits, it’s not Netflix and chill.
It’s dad mode.
I’ve got two daughters.
My youngest has ASD. That’s not just a parenting challenge — it’s a full cognitive and emotional shift every single day. And it’s beautiful, but exhausting.
Then comes dinner. Cleaning. School prep.
And my wife? She works nights — graveyard shift — because her client is based in the US.
That means while she logs in, I hold the line.
Parent. Partner. Project lead. Cleaner. Emotional buffer. Human.
💣 So When Someone Says “You Can Do 3–5 Jobs Online”…
I laugh.
Then I cry a little.
Then I rage internally while washing dishes.
This hustle culture?
It’s a trap disguised as opportunity.
It’s people showing off productivity metrics like kill counts in a war most of us never wanted to be drafted into.
I’m not lazy.
I’m already maxed out.
And I know I’m not alone.
🤖 The Hidden Cost No One Talks About
Everyone talks about making $10K/month with remote jobs.
No one talks about:
- Forgetting to eat lunch three days in a row
- Holding your breath because you can’t afford to yell at your kids
- Saying “it’s fine” to your partner, even though your chest feels like it’s full of static
- Wondering if you’re still you, or just a meat puppet for deadlines and dishes
No one talks about the emotional triage it takes just to function.
No one talks about looking at your task list at 10 PM and thinking:
“Where the fuck do I even start?”
And still opening the laptop. Still wiping the table.
Still checking in on your wife before she logs in.
Still folding clothes, fixing bugs, and rebooting for tomorrow.
That’s not balance. That’s endurance. And it doesn’t get easier. You just get used to the weight.
⚙️ My Survival Protocol (Unpolished. Ugly. Real.)
- Sleep like it’s stolen. Because it is.
- Let the house get messy. Sanity is more important than spotless.
- Cry at random shit. A stupid commercial. A spoon out of place. The quiet.
- Skip the “life hacks.” You’re not broken. The system is.
- Admit it’s hard. Not once. But every single day it still is.
I’m not thriving.
I’m not scaling.
I’m surviving.
Because what other choice do I have?
🧠 One Job Is Enough When Life Is This Full
If you’re juggling work and life and still feel like you’re drowning…
That doesn’t make you weak.
That makes you aware.
The people shouting “get a side hustle” aren’t you.
They don’t live in your body.
They don’t hold your world together while holding back a breakdown.
They don’t know the kind of quiet strength it takes to say:
“No, I’m not doing more. I’m already doing everything.”
And if today all you did was get through it?
That’s enough.
You’re enough.
SYSTEM STATUS:
Battery: 12%
Rage: Stable
Love: Still online
You: Still here.Log closed… for now.
📂 Related Protocols
- 🛑 The Art of Doing Nothing – When your brain needs a reboot, not more tabs
- 🛠️ Work Smarter, Not Harder – Early signals of over-optimization
- ⚠️ The Untold Struggles of Remote Work – The emotional side of remote labor
- 💤 Waking Up Exhausted – Physical tolls of digital survival