Time off makes me anxious.

As much as we all need time off I have to admit a day of non-scheduled time makes me anxious. It’s like a kid in a candy store there are so many tasks to choose from I can’t decide which one to do and I end up not getting anything done. I check my phone 10,000 times to see if there’s something I’m missing, something I SHOULD be doing. But nothing pressing shows up. The last time this happened I realized I should of made a list or at least planned out my day. Structure and order keep us from going off the deep end and yet too much of the same makes us stir crazy too. As we know, we just had a year of it.

In the past it used to get so bad I would sit on the couch and just stare at nothing, not even the T.V.. I was paralyzed and had such a feeling of dread that something bad was going to happen. Opening my own business was helpful as of course there is always something to do. Sometimes not things I want to do but I could fall back on the monotonous tasks if I wanted. Then it was more procrastination and not a deer in the headlights type of feeling.

A recent phone call to my mother (always good to get advice from those who have lived more than you) reminded me that she always had a job jar. That’s a jar of little papers that have a job listed on each one. Then when it’s time to get something done all you have to do is pick a job. It reduces the stress of the decision making.

It’s easy to be busy. To fill up your days with so much work and to do’s and appointments that you don’t have time to just be. Which can be very scary at times. From now on I will make a plan but not plan too much, take a break but not for too long and move my body so I can find time for rest.