As I was daydreaming about where I would get my next inspiration for my newest story, an idea popped into my head. It sort of stems from what I wrote last time about how we need rest to recuperate and to recharge. Rest, or even distraction is going to help with what I want to talk about today:
It's that feeling of restlessness you get, either when you start to feel anxious, or when you just finish a big goal or project and you finish riding the high. I don't know about you, but I hate having nothing to do. I'm always so busy being busy that I don't really know how to take the time to slow down and just chill. And if I do slow down and try to chill, that's all I want to do and then I continue on that flow - I get super lazy and stay super lazy. Doesn't that follow one of the laws of physics? A body in rest stays in rest and a body in motion stays in motion? But people are a lot more complicated than inanimate objects, aren't we?
So, when I'm anxious, I'm usually worrying about something. It's similar to excitement, but it's not that pleasant. It's usually about something that makes me nervous (i.e. driving around downtown), so to prepare for something like that and to make myself less nervous, I would pre-map out the easiest route. The same goes for anything really - maybe that's why I'm such a diehard planner - I like to be busy and I like to know what I'm up against each day before it happens. These are my of two main rules in life actually:
- To plan out my next day the night before so I can start on it right away when I get up.
- To do something today that will make my tomorrow easier.
An example of that is to make sure the kitchen is tidied up and dishes are put away before I go to bed. I also make sure the kids lunches are laid out so they're ready for the morning rush.
The same goes for when I finish either:
- a large project
- a big goal
- or a bunch of things off my to-do list
An example of this is last week, when I finished cleaning my house. I cleaned the stairs, under my kids beds, their desks, my dressers, went through all of our clothes (I not only gave away stuff no longer wanted or needed to Good Will, but I also organized everything so the drawers would actually close again), and cleaned my room.
It's almost like when I know there's something waiting there for me to do, I get excited because I can go do that thing. But when it gets done, my mind is like "what now?" Also, because I'm in a flow state of cleaning, or working, I want to keep going. I don't know about anyone else, but usually, when people are done a job, it's like - good, we're done, now we can relax. But for me, I'm more likely to keep wanting to work.
I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid. I would organize one area of my room, then I would continue on the rest until midnight or later. That flow state is all in my head and I can't seem to stop once I get going. BUT, when I'm forced to stop because of time constraints, or I have literally done everything, I do of course have that sense of satisfaction and completion upon a job well done. But, sooner rather than later, this restless feeling sets in and I can't just relax right away - my brain is raring to go again.
So how does this all relate to my last blog? Well, I had the worst feeling of not caring about anything over August and I didn't clean the house, nor did I complete any work projects. But then, I started to do things like read my book, lay out in the sun and just relax the best I could. Once I got out of my lazy phase and gave myself some self-care time, I got back to my normal self and started feeling like actually doing things again. In other words, I was back to my regular productive self!
So the lesson in all of this? Even if you don't feel like relaxing, try to distract yourself with something that you already know will distract or rewire your brain for a moment. Then, GO AND RELAX! When I was a kid, I used to think day time naps were such a waste of time and I knew there was no way I would be able to sleep during the daytime. Now that I have three kids and I sometimes get up at 3am, I get it - but usually, I still only sleep if my eyes are closing if I'm doing things. (I need to by SUPER exhausted).
Things I enjoy doing to "relax" is anything art-related - painting, colouring, drawing, or something I can lose my thoughts to. Reading is also great because I get so involved with my book characters that I lose track of the things going on in my own life, and I can sit and read for hours. Movies and tv shows are good too, but they only last for an hour or two. Sometimes I like to read my non-fiction books while I'm having a bath. Another thing I love to do is to get lost in a game on my phone - my current fave is Happy Hospital or Cooking Fever, something mindless but fast-acting. Even if I just take a 10-15 minute break it helps to distract myself from thinking along certain lines. I can derail my brain and get it focused on more productive things!
Let me know if you have experienced this and tell me how you deal with it.
Thanks for reading and we'll see you next week!
Sandra
0 comments