It's Labor Day.
A holiday.
A long weekend.
A day when many of us are supposed to have a little break from our usual work.
Naturally, my first thought is:
Look at all this time I could use to get things done.
Excellent.
We are off to a strong start.
Apparently I Don't Understand the Assignment
Give me an open day and I can find work.
There is ALWAYS something.
Laundry.
Cleaning.
Organizing.
Writing.
Business stuff.
Preparing for tomorrow.
Taking care of something I've been avoiding.
That one random area of the house that suddenly becomes deeply important because I technically have enough time to deal with it.
I can turn a day off into a full shift without anybody even asking me to.
And the funniest part?
Sometimes I'll tell myself I'm relaxing while I'm doing it.
I Have Become Extremely Efficient at Fake Rest
Here's one of my talents:
I can make almost any relaxing activity productive.
Watch television?
Perfect time to fold laundry.
Sit outside?
I'll bring my phone and answer something.
Drink coffee?
Might as well make my list for tomorrow.
Listen to something?
Great opportunity to organize.
Apparently simply enjoying one activity at a time wasn't efficient enough.
And that's when I started realizing:
Maybe I don't actually know how to rest.
I know how to do less intense work.
That's diiferent.
"But I Have Time..."
This sentence gets me every time.
But I have time.
Yes.
I do.
That doesn't mean the time needs an assignment.
That's something I'm trying to learn.
An open hour doesn't automatically belong to the next unfinished task.
Having enough time to do something doesn't mean I have to do it.
And choosing not to use every available minute productively doesn't mean I wasted the day.
Why Does Doing Nothing Feel So Wrong?
This is the part underneath the joke.
Sometimes when I'm not accomplishing something, I feel like I should be.
Even when there's nothing urgent happening.
Even when I'm tired.
Even when I've already done enough.
There's this little voice:
You could be doing something.
And technically?
It's correct.
I could.
There's always something I could do.
But if that's the standard, there will never be a point when rest makes sense.
Because life never runs out of tasks.
Rest Doesn't Need a Side Hustle
I think this is the sentence I'm keeping today:
Rest doesn't need a side hustle.
Watching a movie doesn't need to double as laundry time.
Sitting outside doesn't need to become email time.
Drinking coffee doesn't need to become planning time.
Going somewhere fun doesn't need to become content.
I can do something simply because I enjoy doing it.
And apparently that is much harder for me than it sounds.
Productivity Isn't the Problem
I don't want to swing completely in the other direction.
I like getting things done.
Accomplishing something feels good.
Making progress matters to me.
And some days really do need to be productive.
The problem starts when productivity becomes the automatic default for every available moment.
When I can't sit without thinking about what I should be doing.
When I can't enjoy something without trying to optimize it.
When a day off starts looking suspiciously like a regular workday without clothes.
That's what I want to change.
So I'm Giving Myself a Labor Day Assignment
Which is admittedly hilarious because I'm assigning myself something in an article about not assigning myself things.
We're doing our best.
Today's assignment:
Do something completely unproductive.
Something with no measurable outcome.
No box to check afterward.
No way to turn it into progress.
Maybe I'll watch something.
Maybe I'll spend time with Luna.
Maybe I'll sit somewhere with my coffee.
Maybe I'll scroll through something ridiculous.
Maybe I'll do absolutely nothing for a while.
And when my brain inevitably says:
You know what you could be doing right now?
I'm going to try answering:
Yep.
I'm just choosing not to.
The Laundry Will Survive
I have conducted extensive research on this.
Laundry left undone overnight remains laundry the following morning.
It does not leave.
It does not file a complaint.
It does not appear to suffer emotionally.
Same with most of the other things I convince myself need immediate attention.
Tomorrow exists.
Not everything needs to be moved from tomorrow into today simply because there's technically room.
Maybe That's My Labor Day Reminder
I don't need to squeeze value out of every hour.
I don't need to earn a day off by doing enough first.
I don't need to transform relaxation into another for of productivity.
Sometimes the most useful things I can do with an hour....
is absolutely nothing useful.
So Happy Labor Day.
Whether you're completely off, working, caring for someone, running a household, or somewhere in between, I hop you get at least one little piece of today that belongs to you.
No productivity required.
And if anybody needs me...
I'll be trying very hard not to fold laundry while I relax.
No promises.
-Michelle
Radiant Rise
Healing. Growing. Rising Together.
0 comments