My days off were split up this week so instead of resting the first day and working on my house the next I was forced to get creative.
My challenge was made even worse when I woke up on my day off feeling lethargic with a scratchy throat. I’ve pushed myself far too hard these past few weeks and my body was paying the price. I still had stuff to do, however, so I decided to power on.
My first order of business was to eliminate distractions. I turned off the Internet and disconnected my gadgets. I did not want or need the temptation to go online to distract me.
My next order of business was to create my task list. I noticed with a tired sigh that it was a long one. I’ve let things slide around here lately.
I picked one small item on my list and did it. I still had a bit of energy left so I knocked out a few more of the simpler tasks. Satisfied that I had made some progress, I read for a while and then took a short nap.
I repeated the process all day. Complete a couple of tasks, read, rest, repeat. I made the deliberate decision to postpone several energy-intensive tasks but I accomplished quite a bit nonetheless. Even better, my slow, deliberate pace allowed my body to recover a bit while teaching me an important lesson:
It is possible to be both lazy and productive if you use your time wisely.
While I didn’t tackle the physically intensive tasks on my list I was satisfied with my progress just the same. I could have powered through and worked through the entire list but I would have suffered for it the next day. I see no logic in being deliberately stupid. I have to pace myself.
Have you ever had to force yourself to slow down? Please share your stories in the comments below.
It does take some self-discipline to do what you did on your day off. I find myself having too long of a to-do list for the day. Very frustrating. I like the idea you have of tackling a few and then taking a break. I am toast by mid-afternoon and fried by early evening. And, when I take a break, it is hard to get started again.
It IS hard to get started again once you stop, especially if you are drained before you started in the first place! I’ve learned that for me personally, if I refuse to look at the list as a whole but instead focus on the individual tasks that I do much better overall. I’m far from perfect, however–some days I don’t want to get out of bed after a busy week at work!