We hear it all the time:
- Our world is so fast paced
- People work too hard
- Gotta keep going
- One more hour
We know it’s not good for us, but we keep going and going and going.
What would be so bad if we were keyed into our needs well enough to know when we should slow down. To know when we should take an hour, the morning, or the day, and just spend it doing nothing.
Allowing ourselves to listen to our body, our emotions, our mind and take time off.
I used to hate that I needed to eat and sleep because it just took away time from doing productive things. It’s something essential to us–being “productive.”
I think we can be productive by actively not producing. From sleeping in, from eating slowly, from reading a novel, or listening to music.
It’s Sunday night and I’m going to look at my calendar for the week and find a small part of each day to be non-productive. I suggest you do so too.
Justin Lioi, LCSW is a men’s mental health and relationship expert. He is a Brooklyn therapist (as well as also seeing clients online throughout New York State and internationally.) He received his degree from New York University and has been working with men and their families for over 10 years. Justin is on the Board of the National Association of Social Workers and writes a weekly column for the Good Men Project called Unmasking Masculinity. He can be found on local and national podcasts talking about assertiveness, anger, self-compassion, all with the goal of becoming the man you want to be.