I’ve discovered my secret to productivity. Want to know what it is?
Not Starbucks, like the picture might indicate.
It’s something much simpler than that:
Rest.
If you’re anything like me, you spend far too much time on work. When you find your work finished early, you become confused. You ask yourself, “What is it normal people do during free time?”
That was me this morning. I finished all the tasks I had on my to-do list by 11 AM, and spent a good portion of the afternoon trying to figure out what happened next.
All of the side activities I wanted to do, but had set on the back burner because of work no longer seemed so appealing. It was almost like the very reason I wanted to do them to begin with was to escape from the tedium of working some more.
As much as I love what I do, it can get boring sometimes — yet I can’t seem to stop working. Between upcoming travel plans, the need to pay off student loans, and the desire to make the most of my time, I always try to fill the empty space with something that feels productive, whether it actually is or not.
Sometimes, instead of trying to work, what I need to do is relax. That can mean taking the evening off and reading a book. Other times that means playing video games. And sometimes, that means just sitting at Starbucks on a nice evening, enjoying the breeze and the taste of a cinnamon roll.
Whether you have a big project due, are trying to get in shape, or want to earn enough to take care of debt, you’re not effective if you burn out. No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, sometimes taking deliberate time away from work to unwind and decompress is necessary.
It was delicious.
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