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The human mind is quite ironic!

When we rest, we often feel like we should be doing something productive and when we are productive, we wish that we could rest and relax.

Why is that? Well, I have a theory. And once I have expressed my theory, I would like to state that this is not necessarily true for everyone in every country. It certainly is my experience as a human and I think I have noticed this with many other people.

The Human Condition - Our productive lives.

From the moment we go to school, to our first jobs, tertiary education and continual improvement of ourselves in other jobs we learn about being productive. Be active. Be dedicated. Do something. Read something. Study something. Tidy something. Build something. The list goes on.

It becomes a nagging voice that will always tell me that I need to be doing something. Often it tries to tell me about something else I should be doing except the task that I am busy with and the mind needs to fight a logical battle to determine if what I am busy with is the best use of my time.

Usually what I do is I order the things that need to be done in a list based on importance and/or timing it would be best to do those tasks. Once the tasks have been arranged in a sequence I can then focus on that list and get things done.

Relaxation time.

I struggle to keep balance with daily sleep and resting times. It comes to no surprise to anyone that I then struggle with the concept of rest and relaxation.

We really should give ourselves some time to relax. After hours, weekends and holidays.

Is the human being meant to be a workhorse that must just keep being productive all the time? I think not.

And yet with the push and pressure of the financial/economical world, I always feel as though I should be doing something productive!

Finding balance and finding solace.

There are only so many hours in a day and the thing to remember is to do as much as you can, in the time given in the best sequence you can determine and to never give up on your goals.

In the meantime, in order to achieve those goals, you need to make time for yourself to rest in between all the rush and pressure of getting things done.

Being kind to ourselves and managing ourselves like we would manage someone else, understanding that this human being needs some time off and time to relax and regenerate in order to do the next task on the list.

The Procrastination Irony.

Despite not being able to relax and attempting to get productive, one might find ourselves in a position where we still procrastinate.

This is a psychological condition. We need to consider within ourselves why we are distractible and avoid doing the things we want to/have to do. There are more than one possible answer and usually more than one can apply at the same time.

Feeling overwhelmed is one, where we freeze up unable to make decisions.

Not being rested well enough is another when we don't have the balance described above.

Another cause can be fear. I have seen many talented and gifted individuals pause or fail to even start doing something productive at all because they are filled with doubts and fear.

So, the best thing to do with all of these is a re-start mentally. Start from the beginning.

Are you well rested and hydrated? Are you safe? Are you comfortable? Do what you need to do to make those few things as ideal as you can.

Make a list of what you need to get done and write down the requirements including the time requirement for each task. Re-order the tasks now that you have them on a list.

And now just get going. Avoid any stalling, procrastination and setting yourself obstacles. Most people do not realize but they are AS good at setting obstacles before themselves as they are at setting objectives.

Being able to assess obstacles is good but being able to find solutions to problems is better than only seeing problems.

So...

Get going... but be patient...

Thank you for reading!

Cheers!
@zakludick

Hive South Africa