All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Of course it does.
I'm not telling you something you don't know. I haven't ever actually, if you've been following my blog. (The key is to touch up on the things we seem to forget while struggling with life.)
Getting back to the point, in our personal struggles of dealing with life and improving the way we handle it, we often get lost and seem to find no way to get back on track. And why wouldn't we be ? As we're getting older we're often hit with the realisation of how much of life there is to be handled by us! There's work or studies (sometimes both!), friends, family, deadlines, hobbies, chores, responsibilities and a million other specific things that require our attention. We're bound to snap a few times.
Many of us try to ignore this 'I'm lost' signal our brain keeps giving us and pretend to go on like nothing has even happened. And when that happens, life decides to give us its own signals in every way possible. We miss out on our duties, things don't fall in place, relations start to tense up, the world starts to seem a little out-of-place; you get the idea.
That's when you should know you need some downtime my friend. Very few of us, unfortunately, are wise enough to know it right away. But fear not, what's the use of you reading this blog otherwise?
Each one can have their own definitions of downtime. It could mean pausing EVERYTHING and essentially hibernating, it could mean cutting back on a few activities, cutting off a few people for a while; just taking a pause to whichever level you feel comfortable with.
Downtime helps reset, refocus and declutter our mind. Everything needs to be dusted, cleaned, washed and reorganised. So why should you be any exception to that? Downtime can be hard to process. Hell, its tough even to make time for downtime. But it is necessary.
If you've ever been through such a phase, or are currently experiencing something similar, trust me, don't hesitate. Give yourself the rest you need. Turn some things down for your downtime. You'll feel better.
If you know anyone who's going through such a phase, encourage them to have their downtime period. We all need it at some point.
'How to deal with downtime' will open up the space for me to write a million more words, and I'm trying my best not to compete with you attention span. So I'm going to pause here and come back with another post or two that would be about dealing with downtime.
I'll leave you with the encouragement to take the downtime you deserve and urge the people around you who need it. It's a phase we must proudly own up to and not shy away from.