If you’re like me you might be focused heavily on getting things done which means you may find yourself in a situation when rest comes to kick you in the teeth.
I should know. It happened to me.
Apps, Blogs, Depression, Doctors, and a Difficult Decision.
If you’ve read my posts for any length of time, you know I’m someone who likes to create. I recently released an update to my popular scavenger hunt app AweVenture, I write several blog posts a week, and I throw out several videos a month.
At the same time, you probably know that I deal with depression. I wrote a book about depression and several blog posts. Recently I went to the doctor and had a long conversation. It was a conversation I had for years but with a different outcome this time.
For decades I’ve tried counseling, prayer, meditation, good food, exercise, and several other things. Although all have helped, none have resolved the issue. So on this particular day, after discussing it for several years, I finally made the call to start taking medication, which led me to the type of scenario when rest comes to kick you in the teeth.
Extreme Aversion
I don’t take medicine, almost at all. I eat healthy food (with some junk food thrown in), exercise, and try to stay healthy. In a bad year, I might have 10 pain relievers. I avoid relying on medicine as an extreme last resort.
This became that last resort. And it wasn’t easy. I had the new bottle of pills in my hand and it took me awhile to open it. It took me longer to pick one up.
I stared at it. I thought of all the possibilities and all the things I would be changing. I thought about what this meant for willpower and my limitations. I struggled with all of the challenges and thoughts I had to process.
It wasn’t easy. And I wasn’t wrong to have reservations, because that pill would eventually bring me to the place when rest comes to kick you in the teeth.
Better and Better
Taking the daily dose had some effect on me over time. I can’t say what was placebo and what was medicine, but day one was jagged and rough. Days 2-4 seemed normally despondent. Days 5-6 seemed good with an unusual lack of despair. Day 7 things started to level out with just a few hiccups along the way.
Until day 17, the type of day when rest comes to kick you in the teeth.
A Teeth Kicking Moment
On day 17, things took a turn. I don’t mean they got dark. They didn’t. Things were actually pretty nice.
But my high productivity started to take a turn. I found it hard to get up early. I found it challenging to get moving into the same routines. I found it a struggle to get all my work done.
Don’t get me wrong, I still did all my writing, video work, released the app update and more. The thing was that I didn’t do it the way I normally did it. I rested. I took my time. I didn’t jump into work first thing. In fact, I didn’t exercise before 6:00. On day 18 I exercised at lunch.
For me, this was definitely a time when rest comes to kick you in the teeth.
The bigger question was: is this a good thing or a bad thing?
The Need for Rest
I’m not 100% sure what to do with this. I know that I had been feeling overworked and like a robot for a couple months. I know that I had been starting to fade after our last big six-adventure shoot (check out our adventure guides here! See… I can’t stop!)
I know that I had been doing too much.
I couldn’t tell if this was the medicine sabotaging my productivity or boosting it by making sure I found time for rest, a more enjoyable approach to my day, and some variety.
I don’t know. It’s too early to say. What I can say is that something was wrong, and rest is important. I need to figure out a better balance. I need to find ways to change things up so work is enjoyable and fun and not just high production 24/7.
I need to find time for rest.
I’m not sure how this will pan out and what I will need to do in order to make this work, but what I can say is this: don’t wait until your body just won’t move before you get rest. If you want to be productive, take time to rest. Take time to enjoy what you’re doing. Take time to mix it up. You don’t want to be in a scenario when rest comes to kick you in the teeth. Beat it to the punch and get some rest.
