Remind yourself to rest | Deeper | Post 1

Remember to take time out when you're tired | Random image from wix.com

I've lost count of the number of times that I've worked myself to a point of unproductiveness - to work so hard and long to a point that I stop seeing the progress of what I was really doing.

In an era where we are often assessed and measured according to our outcome, it's easy to fall into this trap. The logic is, if I do more, I can get more done. But in all reality, what is the use of doing a lot of things when you have created very little-to-no value in the process.

Think about it. Let's say you're studying for hours on end because you want to complete everything on time. Throughout all of this, you're having to keep reminding yourself to stay awake, as you repeat reading the same paragraph for the fifth time because you really still can't make out what the author meant. Or you're at work marking your students test papers but you keep needing to recount the marks to one student's paper because you have lost count - again, for the third time.

It's in these moments that it's important for us to take a step back from ourselves, and just rest - get up from the chair, take a walk, make some coffee, socialise, or take a nap. It is always so fascinating to realise the amount of work we can get done after resting - compared to wasting hours doing nothing effective.

Even God, in all His majesty, rested on the 7th day. How much more us mere humans?