Why Pushing Yourself Doesn’t Always Work

“If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.” – Isaac Newton

Last weekend, I pushed myself too hard.

You know how the weekend is meant to be a relaxing time, and a chance to unwind and escape from the gruelling workload of the week? Sure, it’s meant to be that, but I decided to ruin my chances of experiencing this over the past 2 days.

The New eBook

Why? Because my first ever eBook, Value 101: The eBook, has now been proofread and edited, and it’s nearly ready to go out live, once I’ve sorted the Aweber mechanics out. I managed to get the product completed on Saturday morning, and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to keep the momentum running and try to get Aweber set up so I could release my new newsletter with it as well.

It turns out that this was a bad idea.

I wasn’t able to get everything ready by the end of Sunday, although I have learned a lot about how Aweber works, and how to get a PDF file up onto a website. But here’s the thing – I spent most of Saturday, as well as Sunday morning and evening, trying to get everything ready and together. Instead of using the weekend to relax in between weeks of full-time work, I created more work for myself when I didn’t need to.

And do you know what the real kick-in-the-teeth was? I was determined to get this eBook finished so much, that I lost focus of the other things in my weekend. When I was with Sam, my mind kept drifting off to what work I still needed to do. When I was eating, I wasn’t paying attention to my food, and so I missed out on the enjoyment of a good meal.

In fact, I was so determined to get the eBook and newsletter ready, that I was prepared to stay up until it was done, even if it meant me skipping a whole night’s sleep.

Spending Time Foolishly

I usually get about 7 hours sleep a night, which suits me fine – it’s enough sleep for my body to recover on, and it leaves enough time before and after work to spend it on my other interests, such as this website. This system works.

So to then sacrifice this system for the sake of getting ‘Value 101: The eBook’ out there that little bit sooner, just doesn’t make sense to me. But it made sense to me on Sunday evening when I was facing the decision of sleep or work.

I’m not afraid to admit this, but this is how I would advise people NOT to spend their evenings. The evenings should be spent on spending time with loved ones, reading, relaxing, light exercises, or any enjoyable social commitments. In other words, it should not be spent on work. Yet that’s exactly what I did.

The New Plan

I don’t know when my mind had a shift in thinking, but I remember being stressed out at one point, then everything changed. All of a sudden, I gained clarity and peace.

My thoughts had changed from “There’s so much to do!” to “It’s OK, I can finish it another time.” I realised almost magically that there was no need to rush myself around like this. It didn’t need to be released that Sunday evening. It could wait if need be. Instead, I decided to take it in my stride, and work on this project slowly, carefully, and with a smile.

I do plan on releasing the eBook/newsletter combo very soon, hopefully on Wednesday. But what really changed for me was not the new work timetable. It was my attitude to work in general.

Slow Down

I’m now working in bite-size chunks, and it’s saving me a lot of stress. I certainly haven’t come close to the stress levels that I was feeling on Sunday evening.

Due to this bite-size approach, I’m also feeling a lot more freedom – I know that if I don’t get it all done by a certain point, then that’s OK. I’ll continue to value (excuse the pun) other parts of my life by granting them some of my time, just as I granted some of my time to Value 101. Everything in moderation, nothing to extreme – that’s how the Zen saying goes, and it’s been working for many years.

I believe I can also adopt this approach for a number of other things:

• Work – If I’m beginning to feel overwhelmed in my job, I know that if I break my tasks down into a series of next actions, and slow it down by taking it one step at a time, then it will become a lot easier to manage the overall workload. It will also reduce my stress levels, which has a positive impact on my overall health.
• Family – If I want to get something done, whether it be reading or watching TV, and a member of my family wants to talk, then I know to allocate some of my time to them rather than the TV or the book. The book will always be there, as will the TV, both waiting to be used. But my family won’t always be there, waiting for me. So it’s important to prioritise your time.
• Relationships – If Sam wants to spend some time with me, yet I know I have some work to do, then that’s OK. I’ll treat Sam with respect and love because she deserves it, and our relationship deserves it. The precious moments spent with our partners far outweigh the work on our plate, and if Sam wants to spend an hour or 2 in my company, then I know what I’m going to say.

Over To You

So what about you? Can you find any part of your life where you wish you could regain control? Has something become so harried and frantic, that you’ve forgotten why you started it in the first place?

It’s OK, just breathe and relax. Take it one step at a time, slow down, and savour a peaceful approach to work. It can be done, if you truly want it to be done.

Let us know what you think, and what experiences you’ve had of slowing down. And if you come back Wednesday, there might be a treat in store.

 

Image courtesy of Rookie Riter