I need to learn how to relax.
June 24, 2011 2:52 PM
I need to be busy. Now I'm not. How do I relax?
I'm out of school for two months. Today is day one and I am already having trouble. I feel like I need to always have something that needs doing and... well now I don't have that. And I don't know what to do.
I think I need to learn how to relax and enjoy this vacation. How do I get over the way I feel like I need to be busy? And when I do actually have something legitimate to do (like schoolwork), when I try to do anything but that schoolwork I always feel like I need to be doing that, which can sometimes interfere with my enjoyment of whatever I am doing to relax.
This happens alone only. When I am with people, I do not feel the need to be doing something else. But I want to know how to relax with myself and not feel the need to be doing something productive.
So, how do I relax by myself?
I'm out of school for two months. Today is day one and I am already having trouble. I feel like I need to always have something that needs doing and... well now I don't have that. And I don't know what to do.
I think I need to learn how to relax and enjoy this vacation. How do I get over the way I feel like I need to be busy? And when I do actually have something legitimate to do (like schoolwork), when I try to do anything but that schoolwork I always feel like I need to be doing that, which can sometimes interfere with my enjoyment of whatever I am doing to relax.
This happens alone only. When I am with people, I do not feel the need to be doing something else. But I want to know how to relax with myself and not feel the need to be doing something productive.
So, how do I relax by myself?
You don't have to literally relax to have a vacation. You can enjoy recreational activities intensely and still feel like you've had a great time and a break. For example, if you enjoy music, you could compose some music or learn a new piece. Even though it's an activity requiring some diligence, you will really enjoy yourself and hopefully won't feel guilty about spending time on it. And if you happen to transition from that to just playing songs you enjoy to have fun, that's fine too.
posted by michaelh at 3:03 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by michaelh at 3:03 PM on June 24, 2011
Go to the gym and run yourself into the ground. It's the easiest way to burn off some excess energy.
Otherwise, two months is time enough to become basically competent in some new skill as long as it's not something like heart surgery. What have you always wanted to learn or do but never had time for? Take advantage of your unstructured time to do that.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 3:09 PM on June 24, 2011
Otherwise, two months is time enough to become basically competent in some new skill as long as it's not something like heart surgery. What have you always wanted to learn or do but never had time for? Take advantage of your unstructured time to do that.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 3:09 PM on June 24, 2011
Practice. Start off slow - just five minutes of sitting alone with your thoughts in a quiet place. You're not allowed to do anything but observe and think. Try to slow your thoughts. Daydream, use your imagination and have fun with it. Pay attention to the feelings in your body that you don't notice until you take the time to sit still and listen. Then slowly increase this time as you become more comfortable - 10, 15, 20, 60 minutes...
posted by smokingmonkey at 3:11 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by smokingmonkey at 3:11 PM on June 24, 2011
I like doing something productive that doesn't require constant attention, just some effort at intervals. Baking bread really helps me when I'm on vacation and bouncing off the walls from sitting around doing nothing. (Mix the sponge, take a break! Add remaining ingredients and knead, take a break! Deflate the dough, take a break! Shape into loaves, take a break! Etc.) I have found it much easier to handle shorter breaks within my vacation than the entire vacation as a single break, which is totally overwhelming.
posted by bewilderbeast at 4:15 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by bewilderbeast at 4:15 PM on June 24, 2011
Are you a student or a teacher? If you're a student...get a summer job?
posted by asnider at 4:15 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by asnider at 4:15 PM on June 24, 2011
Learn something -- really understand something.
I go for history, but not history in general -- history in specific. Why did Lincoln decide to oppose slavery? Why did King George give up the colonies, aka us? Why did Vietnam win the war? Why did the Equal Rights Amendement -- equal rights for women, for god's sake -- fail?
But you could pick anything. In 3 days you could learn enough about chess to beat 95 percent of everybody you know. Ditto bridge. Maybe not basketball, but free throws? Read a book of short stories and write a paragraph about each one.The point is not that any of these appeal to you -- rather, it's to break it down, pick something doable, and do it.
I hope you'll come back to Metafilter with a report.
posted by LonnieK at 4:26 PM on June 24, 2011
I go for history, but not history in general -- history in specific. Why did Lincoln decide to oppose slavery? Why did King George give up the colonies, aka us? Why did Vietnam win the war? Why did the Equal Rights Amendement -- equal rights for women, for god's sake -- fail?
But you could pick anything. In 3 days you could learn enough about chess to beat 95 percent of everybody you know. Ditto bridge. Maybe not basketball, but free throws? Read a book of short stories and write a paragraph about each one.The point is not that any of these appeal to you -- rather, it's to break it down, pick something doable, and do it.
I hope you'll come back to Metafilter with a report.
posted by LonnieK at 4:26 PM on June 24, 2011
Second the gym thing. I had this problem last summer and I did a workout in the morning and a group sport in the evening. It structured my day and ran off the excess energy. It can help to have a routine -- get up the same time, go to the gym same time, do laundry on Tuesdays, etc. If you have a dog, walk it a lot.
posted by mrfuga0 at 4:30 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by mrfuga0 at 4:30 PM on June 24, 2011
Wander the library, write a letter to Grandma, shine all your shoes, tune up your bike, learn to make a perfect omelet, make a list of potential gifts for everyone you buy for at Christmas, discard expired medicines, visit your old neighborhood, spend a day on a Habitat for Humanity project, and organize your digital pictures.
posted by lakeroon at 4:45 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by lakeroon at 4:45 PM on June 24, 2011
I'm sorry, on re-looking, I didn't offer an answer to your question at all. My best thought on that is to remind yourself that your job right now is to charge up for later work.
posted by lakeroon at 4:46 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by lakeroon at 4:46 PM on June 24, 2011
Meticulously organizing, curating and tagging your mp3 collection could take up a decent chunk of time and can be done incrementally over the entire duration. Plus you get a chance to re-listen to pretty much all of your music.
posted by bayani at 9:15 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by bayani at 9:15 PM on June 24, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:02 PM on June 24, 2011