My spike bag in one hand, track bag dangling from the other, camera strung across my shoulder, and backpack weighing me down, I punch in the 4 digit code to my garage. I heave myself through the door and let go of my bags, sensation rushing back to my arms as I take off my shoes. I steal a glance at the time: 9:43 p.m. My mind quickly shifts to formulating the rest of my night. 10 minutes for dinner, maybe another 10 for a shower. Then straight into studying for tomorrow’s math test, and don’t forget to write up that essay draft. People keep preaching to me the importance of sleep, but it seems as though everything else in my life takes priority.
Our lives promote constant action. Whether it’s school, work, sports, or another extracurricular, weeding out a time in our lives to take a break is nearly impossible. And in all reality, in a world where your peers are always sprinting to the next goal, the next achievement, taking a break can be seen as lazy. If you take a moment to relax, to sleep, to think about where you are going, you suddenly are labeled unproductive. But…is it never okay to be unproductive?
Productivity must carry balance. You can grind out all of your work, and load more on, but if you don’t take time for relaxation, you’ll burn out. I’m no psychiatrist, but I believe that by being unproductive, you’re allowing your brain to refresh and to flourish. Your mind can take a break to just live in the moment. I think of productivity like staring at your homework for so long that your eyes start getting fuzzy. Your brain becomes mottled and you have to get up to walk around, otherwise you won’t be able to focus back in. An issue in our fast paced world right now is that we don’t get up to walk around. We stay at that desk, our brains clouded and minds stressed, hoping to get more done. This is a hopeless cycle, and I firmly believe that the sooner you realize this, the better your life will become. I struggle to get up from that chair, to let my mind take a break from its work, but when I finally push myself to do so, I find a whole new window has been opened. When I sit back down, I’m refreshed, and I can think again.
I’m not telling you to give up on doing your homework, or skip all your extracurriculars because ‘it’s okay to be unproductive’. But, every once in a while, give yourself some space. Ask yourself, is this too much for me? Because it’s okay if it is. It’s okay to be overwhelmed or to know you are at your limit. Get up from whatever you’ve been staring at too long and open a window. You may find yourself letting in just the right breeze to get you back on your feet.
