Do Less

Hey! The fourth term is up and running. I am limping along with it, how about you? I have been reflecting this week about how it is OK to Do Less.

This week, after a week off work, my body has said "Slow down." and slammed me with a flu virus thingy - haven't had one for quite a while. When I get flu I tend to lose my voice, my body is talking to me, saying "Do Less". Not ideal when one has to give a talk, but thankfully my voice was OK.

I lay in bed for a whole day this week and I was surprised at how guilty I felt intitally. My brain was going "you can't afford to lie here doing nothing." And when my body was not able to respond my brain tried "well, at least type something. Anything! We can't afford this, this is not a good time!"

And you know what, it is not a good time. It is never a good time to be sick. It is not something we can control. There is not always a convenient time to Do Less. But I do think it is important. Even if it is for one day, or half day, for a weekend, or even one hour! But what I realised this week is "Do Less" was all I could do. I couldn't push myself any more, my body simply refused. My brain, for all its moaning at me, was not firing on all cylinders. Permission granted: Sometimes we simply need to Do Less.

On this note, my friend who has also been woman-down with flu this week got up to work for a couple of days and then had a set-back in her recovery... her body too was telling her "DO LESS"!!

You may be able to Do Less of one thing at a time; less reading the news, less looking at social media, less pushing your body to exercise when it is asking for a break, less people pleasing...

Here is a different way of Doing Less.

I came across a woman named Catherine Price who did a TED talk on "Why having fun is the secret to a healthier life." She also has a substack called The Serious Business of Fun. I highly recommend both! She offers this free screen saver to help people mindfully engage (or not engage) with their phones. There are 3 questions that now pop up every time I touch my phone...

This has been a reminder to me this week to be mindful when I pick up my phone and Do Less, especially of the mindless screen-related stuff.

It is fully OK to recognise when you need to Do Less. You're not lazy, you're looking after yourself. Enter a bit of "rest and digest" mode, which, btw leads to more productivity and happiness in the future!