There were days in which I barely got a chance to go to the bathroom… Sound familiar ha? Heck, most of my days used to be like this. I was under the impression that working hard meant that I stood for something, that I was doing things right. I used to define myself by this, to be honest, I still do sometimes. However, in the spirit of lifelong learning, I tried something new the other day. I still had a ton of things to do so that I remain on track. By the way, on track, what does this actually mean? Well for a person as I am – organized, control freak and deadline obsessed, it kind of means everything 🙂 Then, you can only imagine how hard this next part was.
Go off track
One afternoon, after having lunch with my husband at home, (I remind you that I do all my work remotely) I suddenly decided, right then and there, that I was not going to do anything else for the day. You heard me right: I was not going to finish that day’s to-do list!
I was browsing Facebook during lunch and I saw the trailer of a movie. It looked so relaxing. I imagined screwing everything and just seeing a movie during a workday afternoon… Just plain defiance … So, I washed the dishes and I kept my idea alive. Just sit down, relax and watch a movie, spitefully, on a plain Tuesday afternoon.
And I did! It might not seem a stretch for people that are not workaholics or uber defined by achievements. But for me, it was out of this world… Just plain enlightening. I just sat there without feeling guilty or pressed and I enjoyed a plain romantic comedy (one of my favorite kinds to be honest … ” Some kind of beautiful ”, if anyone is curious). I laughed and even cried a little and it was the best Timeout ever! I relaxed and got creative for this short update blog post.
The next day, I was even more motivated and productive as I allowed myself this interlude.
Reflect
And it got me thinking about something way deeper than this particular experience. I reflected on the way we regard work. It got me thinking about the archaic way we are all accustomed to perceiving work: like something mandatory, given to us, not necessarily pleasant, that has to be done in a restricted environment. And it even applies to people that are their own bosses. Even if we like the work we do, we sometimes get so cringed by the tasks, the presumed lack of time and the pressure we mostly apply on ourselves, that we forget to take some time, breathe and allow ourselves to work smart, not hard.
Be productive
Well, guess what… I’ve got news… It can be done differently and from time to time it should actually be done differently. I advise everybody to experience a change of pace. Whether your “poison” is movies, TV series, playing ball, walking in the park, drinking coffee/tea with a friend or alone, playing with your kid or any other activity one can think of, do yourself the favor of allowing this timeout. Those who know me can vouch that I am no slacker and do not encourage slacking. However, from time to time, with the right end goal in mind, it can do wonders. Do it with the purpose of learning something valuable. Do it in order to motivate yourself to be more productive. Do it to reward yourself for all the extra hours you put in.
Yeh, yeh, as you can see, there is a catch!