You know that awful feeling when you know you should be working on a project with a deadline... and then you find yourself lost in social media? ( Like right now, perhaps?)

Quit feeling guilty. What if your thought process was more like...

So I wanted to work on the report that I had overdue! ... But if I were doing that right now, I would be ineffective. Why? Simply because I'm brain dead! Instead, I decided that it was a wiser investment to listen to the charge-up music I have pre-saved on my Spotify account. Uplifting, inspiring music that puts me in the mood. I read an article of interest on Linked-In, caught up on news, and overall invested 5-10 minutes recharging my batteries. Now I'll be more ready to charge hell with a water pistol. 

Nice.

There are different things we can do throughout the day to recharge our batteries… but the reality is that we need to recharge our batteries. I repeat, we needa break from intense focus.

Because you are not a machine, you are not going to perform at your peak state forever. Save yourself the headache and back off.

Pay attention to your energy levels and avoid investing energy where you have none left to give.

I don't know about you... but when I plow through all the signals telling me to take a break, I always find myself disappointed. I should have gotten that document finished in 20 minutes.
Why the heck did it take me an hour and a half?
A mistake that could be avoided by paying attention to your signals:
  1. Headache
  2. Fogginess
  3. Lack of focus/ blurry vision
  4. Craving a cup of coffee that will do no good.
  5. Pondering the logistics of taking a nap under your desk.

Something that works for me to recharge is to unload some of my daily burden by typing out my thoughts. It gives me a nice break from the tediousness of certain tasks. Granted, I’m not working on my 2-3 projects which have a deadline right now… but when I reset my attention to the tasks I need to complete, I’ll have more energy to invest. I will more likely be able to keep my creative juices flowing and transfer the momentum in the next activity.

That’s why I find it necessary to write to you all at this very moment about my current energy crisis. 


It gives me an opportunity to flush out my brain. And it gives me an opportunity to potentially bless others that suffer the same time/energy crises as I do!
As I wrap this up, I find myself completely at peace, energized and ready to tackle the second half of my day (5pm - 10pm) and all the highly creative activities and energy intense list of to-do's. Of course, if you’re reading this, most likely your time-crises destress is probably “getting lost in social media”.
Don’t stress about the need to destress!
Give yourself permission and a designated amount of recharge time. Then get back to work. Work in 20 minute intervals with a 5-10 minute stretch break/blogging break… It’s called the Pomodoro technique. Look it up!
Good luck guys.
Yours,
Robert Vicens