Have a break, make sure others do too
This month started with a crippling depression. The start of the month involved me not taking more than 1,000 steps in two weeks.
Trust me, I had free time.
Here is how I spent it:
- Instead of getting stuff done, I stayed in my apartment away from the world
- Instead of going to the gym, I focused on the pain in my body and used it as an excuse to do nothing.
- Instead of talking to people, I. hid, crushed with anxiety for what could happen.
And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
The end of this month has been one of the most productive of my life. It is as if I made up for lost time not just in work, but in attitude. I was better, both in mind and spirit.
A break was what I needed.
This month was about not being dragged down, and part of that is what you can do at the moment (which is some of what I wrote about daily). Another part of that is learning that sometimes you need to shut it down*.
This lesson was the most significant one for me. One I often forget and usually (unlike this month) learn the hard way.
We aren’t robots. We don’t follow to-do lists. Our emotions and spirit come into play and affect everything we do. If I came to work in a dark place, that opens to door to vindictive, messy work that serves no one and as a destructive bonus takes other people down as well.
That is why listening to your fatigue and finding breaks is often the healthiest/most productive thing you do.
Recovery is part of strength.
You take you everywhere. Your team takes themselves anywhere. Physical fatigue isn’t the only thing we need to listen to, we have spiritual and mental fatigue, too.
Because when we drag ourselves down, we can drag other people with us, and we don’t want to do that.
*My privilege in life allows m to do this. I am a mental health advocate, and this only strengthens it. The ability to take a break shouldn’t just go to the classed. Personal days is a right; we’d all be better for it.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 