Allow Yourself to Rest Every Once in a While and See What Happens
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Why we shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a day off (even during the pandemic)
“Each person deserves a day in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” -Maya Angelou
Whenever I’d work on something during the weekends — for school, work or my own personal goals— I felt super productive but also super burnt out.
Sometimes you can’t avoid working on weekends: either your job requires it or you need to meet a deadline.
For me, though, working on the weekends was mostly a conscious decision. I like being productive: I’m constantly taking classes to develop my knowledge and skills, or often working on writing projects. Keeping busy is also a good way of distracting myself from unpleasant emotions or situations, so productive weekends have easily become my default way of living.
I’d go into work on the weekends to get ahead for Monday mornings. I’d use the weekends to watch tutorials on InDesign and practice using the software. And I’d sit at my computer all Saturday or Sunday, writing for nearly the entire day.
On paper this kind of productivity looks great.
But not when it comes at the cost of taking time out to relax and recharge.
I’m all for putting in the hard work and hours when called for — but I’ve also come to realize how crucial it is to step back from everything and just relax.
To do stuff for the sake of pure enjoyment and fun.
Without goals and end results in mind.
During this pandemic, I’ve made sure to especially keep myself busy to ward off feelings of boredom, loneliness and helplessness. It’s all too easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed by the constant stream of news we’re receiving these days. One major way I’ve kept myself occupied is by writing articles for Medium and other platforms. It was only during this past week that I realized how stressed out I was getting over my writing productivity and output.
