Covid captivity has brought some definite advantages, like no commute, thus extra time for life. You can wear your comfy trousers and slippers. The disadvantage for some work addicts, though, is that work never goes away. Their work hours stretch, endlessly. Where is the off button? Some are finding themselves obsessed by the endless list of work tasks, and are having difficulty turning off.
I have clients who have told me that they are working all hours of the day and night, without any real break. They feel overwhelmed, even guilty if they are NOT working. They can’t sleep properly, but don’t know what to do about it. We are working hard, but maybe not smart. When we don’t rest our minds, they grow stale and we are likely to get stressed. This can be anxiety producing. It has been shown that anxiety disrupts cognitive performance.
The idea of downtime can sound ridiculous and feel scary in light of all the things that need to be done. But chances are that life will be more pleasant, and you will feel a whole lot better if you get a bit of balance happening. Some down time might even help your business because you are likely to be fresher, feel less stressed and thus more capable of making better decisions.
My suggestion is that you carve out two hours per day just for you. Yes, every day. A minimum of two hours where you don’t check your email or phone calls, and where you attend to what you need. Give yourself permission to read a book, go for a walk, or just do nothing. Take a nap even. Two hours is just over eight per cent of the day.. You can give that to yourself. Assuming you sleep eight hours per night, that leaves 16 hours. Three hours for preparing and eating breakfast and lunch and dinner still leaves 13 hours.
You don’t want to be working for all of those. You will be stale, and not very productive. You will not be much fun, and most likely it will lead to some form of self-sabotage as our spirit will only put up with that kind of imbalance for so long. Put in your schedule the two hour period each day that you will have for you.
Oh, and take one full day per week away from work as well. That’s your recharge day. Stick a towel or a table cloth over your desk and don’t take it off for 24 hours. Having non work time for Self will take discipline at first, and you might wonder what to do with yourself. My tip is try something creative or playful to do. As you come back into balance with yourself, you will find that things flow in a different way, you feel more enthused and energised, have more clarity and get your work done quicker and smarter.
And, you will have a happier healthier you.
Shakti Durga is a leading international teacher of spiritual transformation. Her teachings inspire, elevate and offer practical, humorous and deeply insightful ways to navigate the human experience. She uses ancient wisdom tools to solve modern problems and help enlighten consciousness. She is the founder of Shanti Mission (Peace Mission), with its head office in Australia.
