I don't have the same problem working on individual stuff - there is no-one else to solve those problems after all. I've never been the slacker of a group project before and I am not liking the rising suspicion that I might be right now. I'm probably more concerned with "being a bad person" than with "not being productive".

This resonated with me. I’ve recently come to understand better how I’ve attached my self worth to the quality of my work. When work suffers, my whole sense of how I define myself suffers. That’s not great at all, so that’s something I’m really working on.

I’m not sure that applies to you personally, but perhaps reflecting and seeing if you can figure out what’s got you tangled up could be worthwhile?

As an example, I’ll share that I had some writer’s block when working on a project recently and it was only after really examining what I’d been doing that it became clear that I was blocked because I was trying to write this thing according to what I thought people would want to read instead of writing what I really wanted to say. After that, I started over and it all came much more easily. I felt better about it too.

Good to hear that things aren't bad. I've found it hard to say that things are "good" even when things are pretty good on a personal level since I can't really shake how things could have been if things were normal.

That’s also really tough, but totally understandable! Managing expectations is a skill I’m always learning, but it has been helpful in getting through everything. I’m finding that managing my expectations but not giving in to cynicism is very much a work in progress. Best of luck!