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The other night, I had a plan. A good plan. A productive plan. After my AA meeting, I was going to go downtown, fire up the laptop, finish a blog post I’ve been working on, tweak a few things on my laptop, set up some FTP access for a friend, and maybe catch some football on TV. But I did none of that. Instead, I had a cigar and enjoyed the football game with the other patrons. And in doing so, I came to a realization that had been gnawing at me for a while.
You need to turn ‘off’ the multi-tasking and networking from time to time.
Smoking cigars is something I do to relax and unwind. It’s somewhat of a carryover from the 15 years I smoked cigarettes (yes, I started smoking at age 10, and even worse I began again a few months ago.), some of it is tied to my father’s own cigar smoking, but mostly it’s a reason to sit down and decompress. Given that it takes a good 45 minutes to an hour to smoke a cigar, it’s almost as though I am mandating relaxation to myself.
So why do I want to include other work in it? I don’t, and I shouldn’t. While it’s OK to do something else from time to time, there’s a reason I need to relax in the first place. If I begin to incorporate other tasks into it, the meaning and purpose is gone.
There is always the push to always be ‘productive’. Whether it’s the non-stop data feeds of RSS and email, the numerous GTD posts, blogs, gurus, or just the fact that there are more things to do than time to do them, we often lose sight of relaxation. Relaxation IS productive, probably more so than half the things I do to ’stay on top of things’. When I am in a situation that is calming and relaxing, I have a better chance of seeing through the problems and issues I may be facing at that time. I can allow all the half-thoughts to either complete themselves or filter there way out.
And most importantly, I can watch football.
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Comments
12.07.09
I try to leave my laptop out of the equation when it's time to relax. I usually end up working, checking emails, tweeting, etc. And none of that stuff should be part of the relaxation process, at least not for me.
12.07.09
I know it sounds strange, but I haven't had the Internet or cable for over three months now. I'm online all day long for my job, so when I get home I really just want to keep it simple -- cook, clean, get organized, read (books), go for a walk, chat with friends (on the phone), etc.
I'll probably give in an get the Internet very soon, but I'm definitely reluctant to because I know I'm a workaholic and I'm worried I won't be able to relax when I get home from the office. (That being said, it might be a plus when I have something I need to get done so I don't have to stay in the office until 9 p.m.)
12.07.09
Cassandra, I feel like my next big city move I will "accidentally" move somewhere where I don't get internet. At the very least, I'll be working off-work hours in cafes rather than my kitchen. I really really love being disconnected at will.
I think you should hold off a little longer on getting internet at your home :-)
12.07.09
@Cassandra - I personally couldn't go without internet (being that it's how I earn my living as a freelancer), but TV I couldn't care less about. Other than the cartoons I watch with my son and some sports, I don't watch it. My wife does, but that's her way of relaxing.
12.07.09
YES! As far as I can tell, this is the secret of life. A little unstructured time in which to enjoy the simple pleasures, and, I would venture to say, a little time entirely to oneself, are critical necessities. How else can everything else be enjoyed if that background time doesn't exist? And isn't it funny how hard it is to "plan to relax"? An ironic term for something that works best when it's spontaneous. A little decompression time is one of the most important things for happiness in general, and thusly, for productivity in the end!
12.07.09
Great post, Andrew!
Beth wrote something similar too, which is featured today.
We often forget to unwind. We don't need to be doing something every second of every day. Sometimes just hanging out helps.
I finally decided to take a week off before the year is out to help me get back to Zen and do some things I enjoy doing, like visiting friends over the holidays (and not get exhausted in the process).
Thanks for the reminder :)
12.07.09
"Relaxation IS productive"
I love that. I am going to try to remember that. I feel like if Im not being productive (whatever that means at the moment) then I am wasting precious time. You are right relaxation is productive.
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