As I have no doubt explained before, my brain often gets caught up in trying to finish things x,y,z before I rest or so something fun.

It’s not about finishing those things per se. It’s not about not deserving rest, it’s not about productivity, it’s about optimizing my rest. Part of my brain is convinced that truly resting depends on having everything done.

And yeah, intellectually, I know that there is no such thing as having everything done.

And I’m sure that the fact that I always feel like I *should* have been able to do those things sooner is a factor (and that feeling is sometimes true.)

And this would be less of a problem if those things were doable in the time my brain allows – but they rarely are.

So, I am trying to shift my thinking pattern here.

How can I draw a line under how much I am willing to work on today?

How can I convince my brain that I don’t need to optimize my rest, I just need to rest?

Today, I’m experimenting with adding a little adventure into my schedule.

I worked on a few things this morning and this afternoon I am going swimming at a friend’s cabin.

My work isn’t done but even if I worked all afternoon I still couldn’t finish it today.

So, I figure swimming and having a fun, relaxing mini-adventure on summer afternoon is a much better use of my time.

Maybe my brain will learn something from this. 😉