On Slowing the Hell Down
Happy Tuesday! Sorry this week’s newsletter is late, I had a rough start to the week.
I had a few exciting successes early last week. I wrapped up a piece for a publication (coming soon!) and submitted another to my biggest client. I was walking on air.
As the days went on and slowed down, I got restless. I had less work to do and started fretting about again. What I accomplished just 72 hours before felt like a long-gone memory.
I was frustrated with myself. Why can’t I be satisfied with the wins for longer than a day? Why does there always have to be something new to do to keep me happy?
Anytime I’m not moving, I get anxious and feel guilty about not going forward. Maybe that’s why I keep taking on more hobbies than I can keep up with–doing anything productive, even something small, makes me feel better about myself.
But I find myself without much energy lately, even to read that stack of books I brought home from the library last weekend.
I’ve learned that pushing myself to stay productive when I’m exhausted only leads to misery. So instead, my downtime has been filled with episodes of The Walking Dead (yes, I know I’m ten years behind the curve.)
My partner introduced me to it, and I was immediately surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The storytelling and character dynamics are incredibly well done, and every episode leaves me on the edge, desperate to know what happens next. It’s reinvigorated my love of story.
The best part about it, though, is the time spent taking it easy with my partner. We perfectionists struggle to rest, but we need that time to decompress. Take some time to relax and turn off the productivity machine for a while. Life looks better when you do.
Exciting things are coming. New collaborative content (with one of my best friends) is on the horizon, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Here are some neat things I’ve written or come across this week:
My latest Medium Piece on the plus sides of the pandemic
This beautifully painful poem
An insightful piece on chaos addiction
Help the environment by reseeding wildflowers
Are you enjoying the newsletter? Is the structure working for you, or would you like more recs and resources? I’d love to hear from you.
As always, I believe in you, and I hope you have a beautiful week.