Do you need to move or to rest?

Christine Hennebury

2 years ago

Most of the time, my multi-project work/volunteer life suits me just fine but every now and then I have one thing too many going on and my brain just says ‘Nope.’

I’m sure this happens to everyone to some degree and I’m also sure that it’s one of those time when my ADHD goes into overdrive.

My challenges with task initiation and prioritization intensify and I feel like my brain is a drawer that is off its runner – it kind of works but it’s a bit wonky and it might just fall out.

(Not literally, of course. I’m sure my skull knows how to keep my brain in place…pretty sure anyway.

And while I generally know what I need to do when I feel like that (check for tasks I can postpone/drop, scale my tasks down, get help, get some exercise, take more breaks), I also risk falling into that in-between zone where I am neither doing the thing nor am I resting.

You know that zone, right? Where you are kind of relaxing but also hyperaware of the thing that needs doing so you don’t get to feel relaxed AND you don’t get the satisfaction of doing the thing?

Anyway, I was in that zone on Monday morning this week.

The 10 days or so have been really challenging and while I rested as much as I could, I still needed a bit more down time.

I couldn’t take the day off because I have a few deadlines looming.

And I am feeling a bit stiff and sore because of the kind of stress that comes with facing too many challenges in a row.

So, I found myself in that zone.

I couldn’t make myself start anything on my to do list because I was tired and overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, my brain was arguing that going for a walk would make me more tired but that doing a yoga sequence or taking a nap would be wasting time that I should be spending on my tasks.

It was not a fun morning, to say the least.

But even though I couldn’t convince myself to walk or to do yoga, I did finally manage to convince myself to at least look carefully at my list to see if there was anything I could reschedule, figuring that a shorter list would feel more doable.

And that’s when I came across this Instagram post that I had copied and pasted into my to-do list* because I wanted to remember to ask myself the key question, ‘What do I need right now?’ on a regular basis.

This Instagram post is from Dan Harris of the 10% Happier Podcast/Book/App and includes 4 images. The first one shows him and his child lying face down on a white mat looking tired. The second is a quote from Joseph Goldstein, Meditation Teacher, that reads ‘Effort creates energy.’ The third is commentary from Dan that reads ‘This can be mildly annoying to hear but it’s true. If you want to get moving, you gotta get moving. Try something small and fun. A walk, a workout, a meditation sesh. And/but…’ The fourth is the rest of the commentary that reads ‘Some days you might just need to rest. Here is another good rule of thumb: try to get in the habit of asking yourself this question, ‘What do I need right now?’ Some days it’s effort, other days it’s a nap.

So, I did.

And it turns out that I needed to a) take a proper break with tea and do a little reading b) then do that yoga I was avoiding c) then pick some small tasks to do as a ‘warm up’

This time I had competing priorities for movement and rest and work all jumbled up but I also often get into this same kind of quandary when I just feel kind of meh and I can’t tell if I need some exercise or if I need to rest.

And I’m hoping that the reminder to just ask myself what I need will cut through all the back and forth in my brain and let me do the thing I need to do.

But in case it doesn’t, I’d like some back up plans and I’d like your help with those.

Soooooooo…

How do YOU decide whether you need to move or to rest?

*I’m sure you will be shocked to discover that my to-do list does not just include tasks, it also includes reminders, and key info, and notes to self about things I want to think about.

Share this: