Are 14 projects or household chores in progress really better than two or (gasp) one thing completed and removed from that to-do list that’s harder to finish off than Jason Voorhees the slow of foot hockey mask-wearing, machete wielding, mass murderer from the Halloween movies?
Oh we do love technology. The Internet. Smart Phones. Mini laptops. HDTV with 1,000 channels and Ipods with podcasts. GPS personal navigation systems to help us travel efficiently. Satellite radio and video conferencing. Now, you can work all over the world, 24/7 even if you’re driving in rush hour traffic. Yes, we can.
But should we? Isn’t it time to slow down and finish one thing, just one thing, before we move to the next? Yes, it sounds unrealistic and, for long-term, frankly, it is. But, endurance runners don’t sprint the entire race. Their bodies can’t handle the stress. As executives, mothers, partners…we can’t sprint all day, everyday. Our bodies can’t handle the stress either.
Expand your definition of rest to include times when you don’t work so fast or hard. Sometimes that’s as close to a nap as most of us can get. Try doing just one thing or cleaning one room instead of washing and cooking and checking email and uploading photos from the birthday party for your sister in Australia while you dust the big screen television for the bible study’s group viewing of “Passion of the Christ.” Just do one thing. Can you?
Save your personal energy before you burn out. You ever notice how much time Cougars spend just lying around? Take a hint or take a hike.
Just DON’T do it (sometimes.) LOL.
