Don’t force yourself into doing something

Are you feeling tired and don’t feel like doing anything at all (during weekends and not weekdays)? If yes, then it’s time to cut down on the number of things in your to do list especially if you’ve been spending a lot of time over the past few weekends on nothing but works/errands.

Erm, this doesn’t apply to those who have been doing nothing all this while. If you are one of them… time to wake up and go do the things which matter to you!

Okay, back to topic. Actually, nowadays I do feel like just sit down, watch some movies, drink some beer, play some games, read some books and just sleep my weekends away. I think I’m feeling a little burn out. This is a result of putting too much things in my to do list. The list is getting longer and longer as I try to push things ahead of schedule.

  • I try to complete more comics.
  • I try to stabilize my webcomic layout.
  • I try to put on my storywriter’s hat.
  • I try to write more blog posts for this blog and my Novice blog.
  • I try to learn Ruby on Rails and develop a new web application for my personal use.
  • I try to write some product reviews to earn a bit of side income.
  • I try to finish a book.

As you can see, all these things are pretty time consuming and 2 days are not enough. Maybe it is enough but I’ll be dead tired on Monday. This is a perfect example of trying to force myself to do something…perhaps too many things at one time. When you’ve reached this stage, it’s easy to just give up and sit there doing nothing. It’s just too frustrating because the list of to do will keep getting longer. It seems like it’s never ending.

Have you experienced something like this before? If yes, maybe the following can help a bit.

  • Prioritize the list.
  • Assign the long term tasks as lower priorities. For example, finishing a book can be a lower priority for me since finishing it faster doesn’t bring me any extra benefit.
  • Assign the tasks which you feel can contribute to the society or tasks which you will enjoy the most as high priorities.
  • Starting from the top, pick at most 2 things that you think you can finish over the weekend and try your best to complete them. If possible, just pick the first one and finish it before starting the second.
  • If the task requires creative juice and you just don’t have the mood for it, then postpone it. Move on to the next task in the list. Creative works like writing (blogs, stories) and drawing can’t and should not be forced. Do them when you feel like doing.
  • Most importantly, don’t push yourselves too much. If you can’t finish, don’t fret. Put it to next week and move slowly. As long as there’s progress, then it’s fine. If there’s 0 progress, take some time to reflect whether the priorities are in the right order.

Remember, never force yourselves into doing something. You’ll burn yourselves out. Prioritize and RELAX. It’s weekend, remember?

p/s…. if you don’t feel like doing anything, spending time with your family can be a very good and relaxing past time.

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  1. having too much during the weekends can be frustrating..
    we’re supposed to have a break right? =D

  2. @ kenwooi
    mmm, depends on your goals. :) i do have something i wanna pursue. that’s why i’m pushing myself a little even on weekends. :D

  3. It’s good to take a break once in a while. I like to laze around doing nothing sometimes. I think we do deserve such a break.

  4. @ foongpc
    Yeap. Taking a break is good. That’s why the saying goes “taking a short break is to go the extra mile” :P

  5. I want to take a break from my break, lolz…

    Seriously, if you want to be an entreprenuer, I think multitasking is something you learn to get used to. My favorite example is the char koey teow man. He’s the cook, cleaner, purchasing manager, accountant, salesman, director, PR guy, technician and driver all rolled into one. And he doesn’t stop when he closes shop.

    Focusing on one task or two at a time can only happen if you’re in a 9-5 job or have others to depend on. People like me don’t have the luxury. :)

  6. Are you entering the Nescafe thingy? The one that Sukh sent. It’ll be a great avenue for you to come up with a comic or something like that.

  7. @ Damien
    It depends on whether you’re able to get things done. Some people multitask too much and get nothing done. To me, that’s not productive at all. Always have a few top priorities and complete those first. Even our IT development model is moving from waterflow to agile now (complete the priorities first and not try to do everything).

    but i know for entrepreneurs….u have to multitask, and u have to make sure ALL the tasks be completed. :P

    @ Chris
    Mmm i think they are looking for scripts, not comic. Still thinking to join or not. Maybe will try to brainstorm this weekend.

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