I
sat down this Saturday, determined to work on the numerous business projects
that have been stressing me out, and found that I really had no motivation
whatsoever. My attempt at productivity was quickly cut short by the million
other things I could be doing, such as watching cat videos on YouTube, working
on my time machine, or learning to play a zither. (Side Note, I believe a
zither is a musical instrument but ill check on it)
After
struggling for several hours to maintain my focus and be a good, dedicated
student, I finally submitted to my slacking ID. (Yes! I knew that my psychology
course would pay off!) I was, due to overwhelming, unforeseeable, and uncontrollable
circumstances, stymied and thrown off from my original goal.
Anyway,
the point is that I didn’t get any work done. I took the day off. Instead of
worrying about my future career, something that my professors constantly remind
me of with their homework assignments, (except for Dr. Williams of course, he
always has his students complete meaningful homework assignments / Please don’t
fail me!) I succumbed to the depths of despair that is slacking.
But
was it really that bad? That is the question I have been asking myself this
entire day. Was taking the day off to slake some of my unnecessary desires
really a bad thing? As I am sitting here and writing this post, I have come to
the realization that the answer is no, slacking off was not a bad thing.
This
Sunday has been one of my most productive this school year. I woke up early,
got a workout in, did lots of homework, and finished several aspects of the
projects that had stressed me out so much the day before. Somehow, everything
became manageable. No longer was I distracted and unable to focus. Instead my
mind was sharp (admittedly due to having slept a decent amount the night
before) and determined to finish my tasks for the day.
By
being less productive (honestly that’s unfair, I did absolutely nothing on
Saturday), I found that I had become more productive. I think that it all came
down to letting my mind relax. Because I was focusing on doing too many
different things, I couldn't do any of them. By allowing my mind to zone out
and forget, I gained the ability to focus.
P.S.
I did some extra research. CONFIRMED
A zither is a musical instrument.
Conner,
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you got some time off. I agree with you that taking time off allows your mind to refocus, and I think you hit on a key point that not only is your mind rejuvenated when you relax, but the rest of your body is too through the extra time that you have to take care of yourself. Thus, holidays are definitely a key. I see you wrote this right before Thanksgiving break, and I hope the break allowed you to reset for finals. Lastly, I’m glad you thought about this too—I had written on the subject as well, and I think it would provoke some more thought for you. Feel free to check it out: http://humorousthoughtstcu.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-need-for-break.html