SINGAPORE — The past two years of the pandemic have brought about a global shift towards remote work, prompting a rise in online trends geared towards better productivity and wellness.

One such trend that has been gaining popularity on TikTok recently is the "5 to 9 routine", a clever inversion of the classic "9 to 5" workday — which can be taken to mean waking up early to have a head start from 5am to 9am, or in some cases, setting aside me-time after work from 5pm to 9pm.

Viral videos of these "5 to 9" routines commonly include people doing household chores, working out, applying skincare and indulging in leisure activities such as reading or watching Netflix.

Though it may sound simple, the #5to9 hashtag on TikTok now has more than 39.7 million views.

One example of the trend, which appears to be the version that first popularised it, is the "5-to-9 before the 9-to-5". This pre-work routine is centred on waking up before the workday begins in order to have a "productive" start to the day.

A video posted by TikTok user "cameronkira", for instance, shows her making her bed and preparing breakfast before settling down to watch a show on Netflix — all before the start of her workday. The video has more than 957,100 views.

High-profile tech executives such as the late Steve Jobs, current Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey have famously been known to wake up as early as before 4am.

Yet, even though "5 to 9" videos have gone viral, it appears from online comments that a majority of viewers still see such early-bird routines as "unrealistic".

As one Tiktok user said: "Girl, how do you wake up at 5am and then work eight hours? I could never (do so)."

Even rapper Nicki Minaj from the United States jumped in, commenting: "Omg could you organise me like this? When I have to be somewhere at 9am, I wake up at 8.30am."

This gave rise to many "super realistic morning routine" videos, in the words of TikTok user "tylamadeit", whose "5 to 9" video has been viewed more than 230,700 times.

"Let's be for real," she says in the video as she makes herself coffee, apparently just 15 minutes before the start of her workday.

"You're getting a 8.45 to 9 for me, maybe a 8.30, if I'm feeling like it."

Over the past few months, the seemingly more attainable post-work "5 to 9" evening routine has been emerging more strongly on TikTok. Apart from the difference in timing, the routines appear to be rather similar.

Many of the "5 to 9" evening routines also involve more time-consuming tasks such as cooking and baking.

A video by TikTok user "clararpeirce" shows her seemingly grocery shopping, preparing and cooking an elaborate meal, cleaning up her kitchen, working out at a gym, indulging in a multi-step skincare routine and putting in a load of laundry before finally going to bed. The video has more than 1.3 million views.

Someone left a comment saying: "You do more from 5 to 9 than I do in the whole week."

Another "5 to 9" evening routine video with more than 38,700 views, posted by user "beaheaton", includes baking a fruit crumble, playing with her dog, making tea and dinner, then watching Netflix before bed.

In her caption, she called it "much more chill" than, presumably, her usual evening routine.

TikTok user "oldloserinbrooklyn" likened the "5 to 9" trend to the "girl boss era (that) was intrinsically tied to performing productivity at work" or, as one of her commenters put it, simply "another iteration of hustle culture".

Hustle culture was coined to drive home the notion that working long and hard and making work the centre of one's life are needed to be successful.

The proliferation of the "5 to 9" trend, she said, creates the perception that one has to be productive even outside of work. Instead of resting, people would be expected to catch up on books and shows, or work out and cook.

Similar to the phenomenon of "revenge bedtime procrastination", which describes people who take "revenge" on their busy work and social life by knowingly procrastinating their bedtime, the "5 to 9" trend guilt-trips people who spend their leisure hours resting instead of indulging in activities they enjoy.

In an earlier video posted in July, TikTok user "c.a.i.t.l.y.n" says: "The 5-to-9 routine is primarily built around productivity."

The fact that its terminology is an inversion of the 9-to-5 workday, she notes, "just goes to show how significantly our working day... has come to shape our understandings of time".

This has also led some people to point out that despite the similar naming, the time set aside for leisure comes up to only half of that spent working.

On c.a.i.t.l.y.n's video, some people also discussed how the trend "intersects so heavily with the patriarchy and the extra unpaid work women are expected to do".

"I thought it was interesting that this trend is mostly (picked up by) women and a lot of it has to do with body regulation (working out, eating 'healthy')," c.a.i.t.l.y.n said in agreement.

Though adherents may derive joy from their "5 to 9" routines, it is clearly not for everyone. And whether in the morning or evening, others claimed that it still puts an unhealthy premium on productivity that viewers may feel compelled to reach.

One TikTok user said: "I swear the other people on this app only vacuum and wipe down their (kitchen) counters on a constant loop."

But as TikToker cameronkira said: "This (video of her making her bed, preparing breakfast, watching Netflix) is 14 seconds of a routine I do maybe once a week, if that!

"Social media is the tiniest snippet of people's lives, guys."

As with all social media trends, that is one thing people would do well to remember.