A Time for Everything
“Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.”
Here in the U.S., we’ve just celebrated Independence Day. It’s a fun, social holiday when it’s customary to gather for backyard barbeque, swimming, lawn games, and festive libations, and then we finish big by blowing things up. Hopefully, only fireworks. The whole thing is an excellent expression of the exuberance of summer, as well as the freewheeling attitude that begs to prevail during the hottest weather. In some ways it feels like the high point of summer, a day that epitomizes everything this season stands for. So it can seem like something of a letdown to get back to normal life the day after. How does one go on working when it seems like it’s high time to drop everything and hit the beach for a month, responsibility be damned?
It’s a fine thing to partake of the customs and spirit of each season, and yet there will always be things that need doing. There are also things you probably want to be advancing for yourself during this time—goals that reflect true desires you’d like to see fulfilled. How can you stay motivated in the midst of distraction in the form of good times to be had all around? Some thoughts:
- First of all, don’t fight the fun! Find ways to let yourself enjoy the opportunities that present themselves. If you don’t do this enough, you’re likely to get fed up at some point and bolt from the things you actually want to be doing because all that self-denial has made you want to rebel. What this balance between work and play should be is unique to each person, and takes trial and error to discover. It’s also not a constant, so you’ll need to be honest with yourself about what you’re craving on a daily basis and do your best to find sensible ways to feed any craving that you know is healthy.
- Next, look at the list of what you’re working on and see if you can streamline it to make a little more room than usual to breathe. Do you have to make progress on all of those items? Could you work on only one thing per week, even if you’re really charging forward on that thing, in order to create a little more head space and know when you’re done each day? Could you pencil in a little more free time here and there to do with as you like? What would go undone if you did that? Maybe you can live with the answer to this.
- Where could you lighten up on others, who are also probably experiencing a similar draw toward a little more down time? Can you see ways to lower your expectations of others a little so they feel more freedom to enjoy extra relaxation without guilt? It’s not very nice to do less if you’re just going to burden others with more.
- Once you have made a little room for yourself, consider why you want to make the progress you do. Reminding ourselves of the purpose behind actions that may not immediately pay off is crucial to generating the energy necessary to getting things done. For example, cleaning the bathroom is not an inspiring prospect, but keeping germs and dust under control means you get to experience health and the pleasure of living in a clean, uncluttered environment. Focus on the happy result you’re working toward, and it gets a lot easier to get up and go.
- Finally, you can take all the fun you’ve experienced at recent social events, or other pleasant experiences, and play the memories like music in the background when you’re working. Whenever you think of it, remember the laughs, the play, and the good times with people (or animals) you feel close to; you can even think about the ways in which the work you’re doing is likely to impact them for the better, no matter if the benefits are indirect. For example, if you’re cleaning the house, you can think about how nice it will be for them to visit a clean space next time, and imagine the fun you’ll have when they do—or even just how your clean house supports your health, which helps you feel good enough to join in whenever there’s an invitation.
It’s natural to feel some connection to the character of the seasons. If you acknowledge what’s on offer at any particular time and find ways to adapt and enjoy it, you’ll be serving your overall happiness and continued effectiveness. None of us is a machine, nor should we be. Choose to be a human and take part!