All Work and No Play

Scrolling on your phone late at night, dozing off during work.

You feel like you're in an endless cycle of tiredness and ineffectiveness, and you don't know how to get out.

Problem

• You find that you are unable to play or rest fully after your work, because instead of enjoying the rest time, you are stressed out anticipating and thinking about work.

• You find yourself exhausted and tired at work because of the lack of sleep you had last night. You doze off and day dream of vacation, away from your responsibilities.

• You find yourself feeling guilty during rest time because you were distracted at work and feel like you can compensate by thinking about work.

Recommendation

• Hard commit to rest - During rest time, it is your responsibility to fully rest and take care of your needs: play time, socialization, quiet time, etc.

• Hard commit to work - During work hours, show up when you should, and bring out your best. Give your best effort during work hours so that you don't feel guilty resting after work hours.

• Accept yourself for where you are - Sometimes you might not be disciplined enough to focus your attention during work, or guilt-free when you should be resting. Accept that growing healthy habits of boundaries takes time.

Effective use

• Balance - What is due your employer is given fully. What is rightfully yours (rest time, play time, leisure time) is rightfully received and enjoyed without guilt.

• Sustainable growth - You make good use of excess space during work hours to advance yourself to grow. You focus and train hard during work hours, because that is when you should be focusing.

• Develop trust - You slowly build confidence and trust in relying on yourself to take care of yourself well. Your past self consistently makes good decisions that make your present self have an easier time.

Misuse

• Imbalance - You play during work hours, or deny yourself from playing games or resting as a form of "punishment" because you were ineffective during work hours. You might also experience performance anxieties.

• Spiteful - You might build a habit of distrusting yourself, because you don't rest and work when you should. You might begin to resent past yourself for betraying you and putting you into your present situation.

References

• Jordan Peterson on Toxic Productivity.

• HealthyGamerGG on Explaining Why You Feel Tired All The Time.

• Darren Sapalo on the Past, Present, and Future Me.

• Connor McGregor on building mental strength by setting a plan and following through.