I’ve come to realize that the freelance writing lifestyle is not as healthy as one would like to think so. Sure, you avoid the pollution by having to commute to work every day. You also avoid the stress of having to deal with irritating co-workers face to face (although that is easily replaced by other stress factors at home).
On the other hand, even the most introverted person needs some social interaction. Staying within the boundaries of your home is not healthy, too. That’s why I mentioned before that it’s good to occasionally work outside.
However, there are bad days when one just can’t seem to get anything done, and even with the knowledge that changing one’s surroundings will help, one just can’t muster enough energy – or desire – to go out.
Today was one of those days for me.
The day started out pretty good, but by lunch time, I was running on fumes. I couldn’t get a single coherent sentence together. I couldn’t get my ideas to make sense. Heck, I couldn’t even manage to read an email without getting agitated!
Disclaimer: I’m sometimes over irritable/sensitive/anxious like that.
As usual, I tried to slug my way out of it. That’s how I roll. I force myself to stay in front of the computer and get things done. After an hour or so of fighting off a headache, trying to actually work, and about 5 cups of coffee, however, a thought suddenly occurred to me: maybe I should take a nap!
I don’t know about you, but as much as I love to nap, I try to avoid it during the work day simply because I want to finish my tasks as early as possible so I can enjoy a relaxing evening. This afternoon, my body and mind gave in. I didn’t even think of the consequences as I went to the bedroom, turned the AC on, put Vivaldi on, and turned the lights off.
An hour later, guess what?
I woke up, not feeling all perky and chirpy, but I felt so much better. I didn’t jump right back into work, but I did make myself another cup of coffee and a PBJ and settled down on the sofa.
After that, my focus was back, the looming headache gone, and my irritability levels down (somewhat).
I don’t know if you regularly take naps during the day, but I wrote this for those of you who may be like me who try as hard as possible to just keep working no matter what. I know there is always work to be done. There are clients to be satisfied, deadlines to be met.
If you do not listen to what you body (perhaps the mind, too) is telling you, though, you might end up burning out, and that’s definitely no good. The next time you feel really off, maybe you ought to consider giving yourself a break and taking a nap.
Oh, and if you think one nap’s just good as any other nap, here’s an interesting article about power naps that might just teach you a lesson or two.
How do you deal with “off days”?
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