Pervasive busyness.

We may complain about running non-stop on the productivity treadmill like hamsters, but I believe, the thing is we like being busy. We equate busyness with productivity, a hectic schedule with our self-worth. If we cannot find grains of time in our schedule, surely we must be heavily in demand. We even delude ourselves that we are indispensable.

It’s fine if you like to be perpetually preoccupied, I guess. Some people are just driven that way. But what if you always feel unsettled due to your busyness? A tension in your body that is omnipresent like your shadow? You feel rushed, running a futile race against time. Surely that isn’t good for your mental health?

So what can we do then? How do we not let ourselves be Rushed? I think it all starts with our mindset. For example, when we tackle things on our to-do list, we shouldn’t just do them to benefit from the quick thrill of crossing them off our list. We should conceptualise our to-do list in terms of value creation. If we believe that what we are doing brings value to the world, then we shouldn’t let ourselves be shackled by time. Because good things take time. When we tell ourselves that we will apportion part of our time and deem it as our maker’s schedule, then we wouldn’t feel so rushed since our immediate focus is on creating value through our work.

On the flip side, if we don’t think that this task will bring about much value to the world, then we should just aim for good enough. It’s not holding back yourself and not giving your 💯 effort. It’s preserving your life energy for the things that do matter.

When you finish a high-value task for the task, you will find that you can breathe easier even if the rest of the day just zooms by without much results. Because you have at least slayed a task of significance.

Also pencil in rest time. Set firm boundaries with yourself. Revenge procrastination is fine once in a while if it helps you to center yourself and feel less sucky about life. But remember, accumulating sleep debt is not fun. And is it worth it to compromise your long-time health just because you wanna indulge in doomscrolling? I believe not.

In fact, I have two minutes before the clock turns eleven - my bedtime. I don’t even get 7 hours of sleep if I drift off into slumberland now, but it’s alright. I’m Singaporean and have conditioned myself to survive on six hours of sleep. But sleeping at 11pm will yield me 6.5 hours of sleep. Determinedly prioritising sleep above all else helps me feel less rushed. Because I make an intentional choice to sleep right.

It’s okay. I’m not a robot. I do not need to function at my optimal all the time.

Good night, world. This is Sensei checking out.¹