5-to-9 Routines Turn Leisure into Labor

TikTok’s ‘5-to-9’ videos show people packing every evening minute with tasks, turning downtime into a second work shift.

These routines mirror work values—checking boxes, planning ahead, avoiding “waste”—and reflect the ‘workism’ culture seeping into free time.

True leisure, experts argue, requires emptiness and presence for its own sake, not to recharge for more productivity.