A while ago I noticed that when I worked I was often distracted by tasks and plans and feelings, but when I ostensibly “relaxed” I was also trying to be productive. On weekends and vacations I’d be tense with thoughts of what I hadn’t finished, whom I needed to call, tasks I needed to do the next morning. To-dos crowded out other to-dos in my mind.
One remarkable thing about the best athletes in the world is this exact idea. They are exceptional at switching on and off. It takes real discipline to keep things easy when they need to be and vice versa. Not many people can do it. We all know it: you grow when you rest, not when you exercise. It's the same for work. Rest is a key part of the productivity equation. To work better, harder, and be happy, you need to be good, then great, at switching off.
Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande (1930s) has a chapter on rest. She mentioned that writers often took busman’s holidays. That is, they write at work and read for pleasure. (This whole time, their brain gets burned out on words.) That’s why the ‘rest’ she recommends is doing something opposite from regular work.
In my case as a writer, when I feel I can’t bring myself to write another word, I apply what she said. Aside from exercise, meditation, and unscheduled travel, this worked for me: play a relaxing *wordless* playlist from a music streaming service then go stare at a blank wall.
The "stare at a blank wall" part is really important, especially in my room. (To be effective, you need to remove all the written words in your eyesight during this.) Whether I fall asleep or stare blankly doing nothing doesn’t matter (it still lessens fatigue).
Dorothea Brande recommended doing this until the words demand to speak out of you. Oddly enough, this lets me find the motivation to write and read again, it becomes something to look forward to.
I’ve read Csikszentmihalyi’s flow and related books. According to him, one of the things that happens during flow is the absence of internal conflict or psychic entropy. 😲
That kind of focus sounds a lot like Csikszentmihalyi’s flow. 🤔 Quote the definition from Wikipedia: “In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”
The problems mentioned in this post could be a hint why flow/engagement help well-being so much. 🤔
Loved the cycle image you included in the article. I often find myself falling prey to that cycle and finding it difficult to get out of. This is possibly compounded by the fetishization of working all the time and 'hustling' that social media throws at us. That said, I guess it IS down to 'forcing ourselves to focus' if we need to get stuff done once in a while.
I super relate to this. It was my big cultural shock when I moved to the US: people actively bragging about working 10, 12, 14 hours a day. And shaming others who don't. I tried to live like this, it wrecked me for a while. Since then, I'm super interested in the future of our work-life balance. How long can we sustain a world in which most of us don't have enough free time to take advantage of the pleasures our wages allow us to afford?
Big facts. Especially as we turn towards more creative work, it will be interesting to explore how the working world changes. I interviewed one of the co-founders for Time Off and we discussed an interesting concept of purposeful rest -- which goes with your point of being "fully off." Their book/ info might be helpful too!! https://www.timeoffbook.com/
This is really an interesting post. My question is, how do you actually compartmentalize your work and life that well? I often find myself thinking about work when relaxing or getting very distracted when it's time to work. I think that my mind has gotten used to this half-focus on everything and it's become a habit.
The topic of "work-life Balance" should also be in question. People generally need to stop running from their work because their lives, literally depends on it. Switching on and off seems like a great way to begin that balance as our focus is placed on one element at a time.
We must learn to love our work and love our lives.
I really enjoyed this. It made me think about hobbies. Woodworking is one for me. I default to productivity and a focus on outcomes, even when I'm doing something for enjoyment or relaxation. I'll become frustrated if a project is taking longer than I expected and I have to remind myself the practice is the point. A nice piece of furniture every so often is just a bonus. The hardest thing about compartmentalizing for me isn't switching tasks, it's changing into the appropriate mindset.
The book “Rest” by Alex Pang makes a great evidence-based case for resting more. One interesting tidbit: most people have heard of the 10,000 hours study, but what they may not have heard is that a) those people could only get in 4 or so hours of deliberate practice each day and b) those people were intentional about when they rested and what they did during rest, helping to mitigate that worrying/guilty feeling you describe
One remarkable thing about the best athletes in the world is this exact idea. They are exceptional at switching on and off. It takes real discipline to keep things easy when they need to be and vice versa. Not many people can do it. We all know it: you grow when you rest, not when you exercise. It's the same for work. Rest is a key part of the productivity equation. To work better, harder, and be happy, you need to be good, then great, at switching off.
Compartmentalization is the best modern day super power.
On Restful Activities
Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande (1930s) has a chapter on rest. She mentioned that writers often took busman’s holidays. That is, they write at work and read for pleasure. (This whole time, their brain gets burned out on words.) That’s why the ‘rest’ she recommends is doing something opposite from regular work.
In my case as a writer, when I feel I can’t bring myself to write another word, I apply what she said. Aside from exercise, meditation, and unscheduled travel, this worked for me: play a relaxing *wordless* playlist from a music streaming service then go stare at a blank wall.
The "stare at a blank wall" part is really important, especially in my room. (To be effective, you need to remove all the written words in your eyesight during this.) Whether I fall asleep or stare blankly doing nothing doesn’t matter (it still lessens fatigue).
Dorothea Brande recommended doing this until the words demand to speak out of you. Oddly enough, this lets me find the motivation to write and read again, it becomes something to look forward to.
I’ve read Csikszentmihalyi’s flow and related books. According to him, one of the things that happens during flow is the absence of internal conflict or psychic entropy. 😲
That kind of focus sounds a lot like Csikszentmihalyi’s flow. 🤔 Quote the definition from Wikipedia: “In positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”
The problems mentioned in this post could be a hint why flow/engagement help well-being so much. 🤔
Loved the cycle image you included in the article. I often find myself falling prey to that cycle and finding it difficult to get out of. This is possibly compounded by the fetishization of working all the time and 'hustling' that social media throws at us. That said, I guess it IS down to 'forcing ourselves to focus' if we need to get stuff done once in a while.
I super relate to this. It was my big cultural shock when I moved to the US: people actively bragging about working 10, 12, 14 hours a day. And shaming others who don't. I tried to live like this, it wrecked me for a while. Since then, I'm super interested in the future of our work-life balance. How long can we sustain a world in which most of us don't have enough free time to take advantage of the pleasures our wages allow us to afford?
Big facts. Especially as we turn towards more creative work, it will be interesting to explore how the working world changes. I interviewed one of the co-founders for Time Off and we discussed an interesting concept of purposeful rest -- which goes with your point of being "fully off." Their book/ info might be helpful too!! https://www.timeoffbook.com/
This post is super relatable! Aiming for diagram #2 today, so far not going that great but I'll keep trying.
This is really an interesting post. My question is, how do you actually compartmentalize your work and life that well? I often find myself thinking about work when relaxing or getting very distracted when it's time to work. I think that my mind has gotten used to this half-focus on everything and it's become a habit.
This is a great read. Very enlightening
The topic of "work-life Balance" should also be in question. People generally need to stop running from their work because their lives, literally depends on it. Switching on and off seems like a great way to begin that balance as our focus is placed on one element at a time.
We must learn to love our work and love our lives.
I really enjoyed this. It made me think about hobbies. Woodworking is one for me. I default to productivity and a focus on outcomes, even when I'm doing something for enjoyment or relaxation. I'll become frustrated if a project is taking longer than I expected and I have to remind myself the practice is the point. A nice piece of furniture every so often is just a bonus. The hardest thing about compartmentalizing for me isn't switching tasks, it's changing into the appropriate mindset.
The book “Rest” by Alex Pang makes a great evidence-based case for resting more. One interesting tidbit: most people have heard of the 10,000 hours study, but what they may not have heard is that a) those people could only get in 4 or so hours of deliberate practice each day and b) those people were intentional about when they rested and what they did during rest, helping to mitigate that worrying/guilty feeling you describe
Big question - how do you manage your tabs?
Switching on and off from work and personal is the best way to reduce stress all the time.