Isn't that how we all feel at times (or all the time)? There's always something...always somewhere to go, always someplace to be, always someone we need to follow up with, always a task to complete, always one last thing to squeeze in before the end of the day. My iPhone is both a blessing and a curse, because it's a constant reminder that there's always something I could be doing instead of resting, relaxing or just being.
It's the easiest thing in the world for me to check my email or social media. With two taps, I'm there. Seeing how my blog engagement was yesterday. Checking on that one photo that's been pinned a crazy amount of times since last year. Making sure I respond to any inquiries as quickly as possible. It seems like as soon as I put down my phone, I'm picking it back up again for some reason.
When I got a smart phone, I always vowed to never be that person. The one who isn't present with life because she's always checking something. The one who doesn't enjoy the sunrise because the first thing she does in the morning is check all of those 'important' things that had to wait a whole 6 hours overnight.
Something that Nathan said to me awhile ago really stuck with me. I was sitting down, relaxing (which I'm learning to do more frequently!), but I was also checking my email; seeing if the last post I made was as successful as I hoped it would be. And he said to me, "Are you resting, or are you working? You can't do both. Make the choice to rest. Work will come later."
He's so right. I can't keep my brain engaged and my mind going and still rest. The whole point of taking a break is - you guessed it - to take a break. I knew something had to give, so one of my off-season goals was to set social media guidelines. So I've decided that after 8pm, the apps are done. No Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or email. No scrolling through my news feed, even if I'm not working. If it's after 8pm, I'll get to it tomorrow. Yep, even inquiries. I'm slowly learning that there needs to be a clear distinction between working and resting. The more I fuzz those boundaries, the more tired I'll be at working, and the less likely I'll be to rest.
Living in this world often requires us to be 'on' ALL the time. And that's just not possible, and it's certainly not healthy. So I'm changing that, and I encourage you to do the same! Whether it's time in the evening or time in the morning, take some time to let your brain shut down and rest. Spend time plugged into the people around you, or even nothing at all. Times like these can only refresh us and make us better at what we do - and isn't that what we all want anyways?!
I hope you have the best of Mondays!
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