“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”
Genesis 2
As a child, our parents might have told us: “No matter how tired you are you must finish your homework because breaks are for losers, and in this family, we don’t have losers.”
Our culture promotes toxic productivity, associating self-worth with how productive you were or were not during the day.
Slowly we internalized this message and became adults that “must” finish our work no matter how tired we feel, we “must” go to work even if we are sick, we “must” do that and that, we must… we must…
Behaving this way toward ourselves, we teach our children that this is how they also should treat themselves: without compassion.
And therefore, we build another generation of workaholics and burned-out individuals who ignore their physical and emotional needs.
We tend to think that good time management is the one that helps us complete the most significant amount of work, yet good time management is the one that allows us to find balance and well-being in our life.
Before we monitor our time and place our schedule, let us “Sharpen the saw.” In his book “seven habits of highly effective people,” Stephen covey shares the secret of effective time management.
He enlightens us on the different roles we play in life.
Example:
At school, Yasmina is a teacher.
At home, she is a mother and a wife.
At the grocery shop, she is a consumer…
Imagine Yasmina behaving as a wife with the cashier at the grocery shop. That wouldn’t end well, right?
Looking up at the roles we play in life allows us to better manage our time, considering all the functions we must fulfill. But what is more important is finding time to rest.
“Rest” mean different things from one person to another. It can be taking a nap, walking, reading a book, or listening to music. It’s the activity that allows you to feel refreshed and energized, which is unique and different from each person to another.
Before you take the time to list your tasks for tomorrow. Reflect on this point. Ask yourself, “what are the most things I enjoy doing? what leaves me energized? What are the things that make time passes quickly?”
Make a list of all things that energize you and start applying them, one thing at a time daily.
To do your best, please have some rest.
I am the tomorrow. Therefore, I write.