Friday, January 24, 2014

Sometimes, nothing is everything

A lot of days, it's run, run, run from the moment I get up until I'm ready to go to bed. I remember someone telling me once upon a time that life started gearing down  a bit in these last few years before retirement, but man, it's been anything but that for me - there's always more added to my plate at work, something else to clean up or fix at home, somebody I haven't seen in a dog's age to meet for dinner.
It's a full schedule most of the time, one that can be daunting at time, and it doesn't help that this old dawg doesn't get around as easily as he once did. That's a fact of life I've acknowledged; so what do I do about it?
Sometimes, nothing at all. Nada. Zip. It sounds so simple, and yet it can be so hard. And yet it works, if a person only allows the time to be lazy.
I'm lucky in that I have a job, as long as the work is done by its weekly deadline, where I have some flexibility in when I go into the office. So here's what I do when I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed: I get up, sip my morning coffee. Ponder what I really to do, and remember a tongue-in-cheek line I read decades ago in my mom's high school yearbook - Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. And then, if I decide that fits my situation, if I know I can take a mental health break and still do what I have to meet the demands of my job, that's what I do - I put off everything.
I drink more coffee. I go for a long walk. I watch something mindless on the tube, or listen to some music. Or maybe I just lie in bed until noon, unapologetic about being slothful.
And my batteries recharge quickly, and I'm happy and refreshed overnight. And when I'm happy, I can keep my focus, and what seemed like too much a day before suddenly is a piece of cake. Heck, that mountain on my desk truly was a molehill.
I know everyone doesn't have the luxury I do of having a flexible work schedule, but anyone can take a break in a workday to do nothing, even if it's just for a few minutes. Sit back, chill, relax....and smile for a few. Then keep that grin the rest of the day, thinking of what a good time you had doing nothing. And strive to take a few minutes in the void every day; nothing is ever so important that you can't enjoy at least a few minutes of downtime.
That's all for now. See you next time dudes.

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