Inactivity
In the previous exercise for this year (2024) I wrote about nurturing discipline in one’s personal life. Nurturing discipline outside of one’s work life helps to create a sense of accomplishment even if the activity is mundane.
Structure is very important for a lot of people. Oddly though, some thrive on inspired moments when bursts of activity and creativity occur. Both structured activity and unstructured activity is equally important. In other words, working on flexibility of purpose is necessary to create a sense of balance and harmony. Too much structure is just as bad as too little structure. So what’s the balance? Where is the balance? The balance starts with you, and how you balance your time is important. Balancing your time has little to do with time management. In fact, it is about balancing one’s life’s desires and goals. Timing is not everything, but part of what works in the time you are given or have.
Most people organize their life around work career. Discipline is great within a structured framework (schedule) however too much structure without room for inactivity leads to rigidity. One may have an organized life but no time to relax which can be counterproductive, and stress from overworking can actually lead to a lack of expansion and fulfillment, apart from unhealthy situations. Likewise, a lack of structure and too much down time may lead to anxiety around work; in such circumstances there is usually a need for rest and relaxation. Inactivity is not wrong and embracing inactivity or even inertia can actually promote introspection and rejuvenation. It is important to work on creating a healthy and balanced focus of what is important from both a work and private level. There is always a bit of give and take where time is concerned and it is necessary to take time to allow for self-nurturing to find some sense of fulfillment.
understanding one’s role in the larger scheme of things, and on the minor scale of one’s private life and lifestyle, it is important to nurture the discipline in of inactivity as much activity. Inactivity is the art of the being in a space of giving oneself permission to do little or nothing. Nothing means something here – and that something is the art of relaxation, not procrastination. Procrastination is putting off what is necessary. Postponing what needs to be worked on only creates a sense of lack. Once in a while procrastination is okay. It can be a recharging of creativity. It might be doing something else in place of one must be working on. Timing is vital and sometimes a little procrastinate does not hurt. After all, humans are not robots. It is a good habit to take some time off of constantly activity and to learn how to relax. The start of relaxation is to let go of one’s need to do something and to cease worrying about not doing.
Notebook Exercise:
Taking time to relax and to do nothing is an art. There is no such thing as totally doing nothing, so when you decide to do little and/or retreat from duties and responsibilities, engaging in constructive down time. Less physical activity is what I c.,all “doing nothing”. This time is not social time. The time is about being alone with your own thoughts and quiet time.
Get a new notebook and dedicate it solely for the purpose of writing your thoughts down for a few minutes during the “do nothing time”. Write whatever comes to mind, and the time that you choose to do nothing should be once a week, but not scheduled. Shift the days up and time because the exercise is to harness flexibility of relaxation to help to promote a feeling guiltless time-out. Take an hour or two to yourself.
After you briefly write your thoughts down, close the notebook and do not open it until the next down time. Read your thoughts you wrote previous to your new entry. Do you see any patterns? Are you writing about your worries? Are you being creative? What you write during your down time should give you an idea of what and where your thoughts are. For example, if you are writing about what you have to do or complete, then you know you are not really relaxing and your mind is not promoting true during relaxation in your inactivity. If this is the pattern, then you know you have to work on relaxation and maybe engage in mind relaxation methods. If your entries are creative and charged with good ideas, then you know your aside time is positively charged. Try and move beyond the negative towards positive. Try to balance both the negative and positive. Know that the negative is not necessarily wrong. It is just a reflection of what your habits might be or a lack of trust or your enjoyment of your personal time. (Personal time and rest in this case means enjoying your own company and time alone.)