A Fine Line Between Enough and Too Much
I am the type of person who always needs something to do. Ever since I was little, I’ve always needed some kind of project to work on. It’s probably why, even now, I write and keep up this blog and do all sorts of crafts (I even have a Pinterest board specifically for when I need a project to do), especially in the summer.
You’d think that, being a teacher, my summers off would be so relaxing and awesome. They’re not, actually. If I could work year-round, I would, because I hate that summer lull where I spend all day in my office, writing, and usually don’t even bother to dry my hair or put my contacts in. I haven’t bought gas for my car in weeks which, yes, is an awesome money-saver, but it just tells you how little I actually leave the house.
So, as you can imagine, I usually pair the summer lull with lots of projects. Writing here, writing at Care2, copywriting for some extra cash, doing crafts, reading books, writing a book (more on that later, possibly). I get all of these projects going in the summer months, and then, when school starts again, I try to keep them going.
Usually, I fail.
When I start all of these projects, I do a pretty good job of balancing what I can handle and doing just enough to keep myself from tumbling into the perils of extreme boredom. Usually, once school starts, it’s a lot to handle, but I manage. However, when one thing goes wrong or if I find out one piece of bad news, I have usually reached my tipping point and suffer a pretty awesome breakdown. Or burnout. No one can really predict which.
It’s a lot like a roller coaster. Lulls of boredom, and a big lead up to super busy periods, with a plummet back down into boredom again.
It’s something I struggle with. I don’t want to start too much now so I won’t be able to handle it later on, but I also don’t want t sit idly by while I wait for school to start again.
Every year, something has to give. And every year, I can’t decide what it will be.
So I guess I’m looking for some advice. How do you handle stress? How do you handle long periods of boredom and the inevitable rise of busy-ness on the roller coaster that is life?
Photo Credit: Lee J Haywood
I’ve learned to appreciate the periods of harvest and of fallow. After being a student for many years and now a consultant, there are certainly periods of intense activity and busyness, but also periods of slowness and peace. As someone who is very production-oriented, I need to be doing something — creating something, building a skill, etc. even if it’s not work-related. But over the years, I’ve learned to use those periods as times of restoration and a “filling-up” of sorts in preparation for months of intense activity that I know will return.
from two to one –
I totally see what you’re saying, but when the “restoration” periods last around 3 months, that can be a bit much to take. But you’re right, I do need to relax. I sort of find myself wishing lately that my whole life would slow down (not that I would age slower, but that I would be able to take my time with things more often), so maybe that’s a clue that I need to either ditch some stuff or stop worrying so much about the timeline, which is arbitrary anyway.
I am exactly the same way. As I approach graduation and find myself faced with (only) having to worry about my (full time) job I feel slightly panicked. What am I going to do with myself!?
To cope with this, I’ve actually taken up a form of meditation called Yoga Nidra. It’s a guided meditation and I love it. You focus on different parts of your body over the course of an hour. Being guided to just focus on, say, the tips of your fingers, is really liberating. I’ve also found that since I’ve started doing it (usually just once a week) it’s easier for me to handle those periods of having nothing to do.
Rachel –
That’s very interesting! I tried yoga and did love it for a while, but my instructor started doing classes that focus only on ONE body part for an hour and, when we got to the hips, I had to find somewhere else to go. She liked to work on our hips a lot, and my hips don’t work like normal, and I ended up with an injured shoulder. Now, I do Zumba. As a dancer, that’s like a totally different kind of meditation for me. 🙂
I did Zumba for a while and loved it! But then my gym got a new guy to do it and he made so many women uncomfortable that they ended up not going anymore, which was so sad. I’m about to start doing it on the Wii, hopefully it’s at least close to the same, haha.
Ohh, let me know how that works out with the Wii Zumba! I’m curious about that…
I know what you mean about the roller coaster of stressful business versus the lull of boredom. The only difference for me is that this is a day to day thing. My workload is based on the number of projects I have at work. Yesterday I was so busy and stressed to get a project done. Today I have nothing to do and I’m so bored and tired. So I’m also seeking for advice on how to level out the roller coaster. Thanks for the post!