Salon.com: Every now and then during the workweek—usually around three in the afternoon—a familiar ache begins to saturate my forehead and pool in my temples. The glare of my computer screen appears to suddenly intensify. My eyes trace the contour of the same sentence two or three times, yet I fail to extract its meaning. Even if I began the day undaunted, getting through my ever growing list of stories to write and edit, e-mails to send and respond to, and documents to read now seems as futile as scaling a mountain that continuously thrusts new stone skyward. There is so much more to do—so much work I genuinely enjoy—but my brain is telling me to stop. It’s full. It needs some downtime.
20 comments:
Every time I read an article like this, I always want to point out that most of us cannot afford to take so much time off, even if it's a health thing or whatever. The guy in the first anecdote happened to have an excuse to take some time off of work, but there is probably a little detail they left out, including how he could financially support himself for three months without work and such. Most people do not have the luxury of being able to do that, which of course makes it difficult to take a lot of time off. Also, many of us don;t necessarily work on our own schedules, so we are expected to be somewhere somewhen, and because normal people have those responsibilities, we cannot "empty our minds" like the article suggests. So as nice as it sounds, it just isn't practical. And I know for me, if there was anything at all I had to get back to, I would not be relaxed or anything because I would want to finish whatever project I had left.
I started meditating not long after I graduated from high school. I find it to be quite helpful for staying relaxed despite the situation, but the amount I do it varies greatly. When I have a lot of free time, I practice it but when I do not have the time, which is when I really need it, I do much less. Ruben makes a good point. Most people just do not have the time to do what is described in the article. To be able to afford not working for such a long period of time, you need to have quite a lot of money saved up. This is all great in theory, but unless you want to become a hermit or have a lot of money saved up somewhere, regular meditation is not something you will have time for.
Last week there was an article about the benefits of daydreaming and it's interesting to read yet more on the topic, including 'idle time.' I was lucky enough to stay in Scotland for a couple weeks -- I did a program with the World Organic Farming Organization where I stayed with a family. I received food and board in exchange for help with their gardening and household chores. I was struck by their lifestyle -- they were the most content people I have ever met. They live in the rural area of Northern Scotland -- way up as far as you can go. They were right on the coast and surrounded by rolling sand and grass planes…and sheep. We would wake up around 8:00, have breakfast and work until 10 when we would have tea and a snack. We'd work some more and have lunch at around 1, work a little more and have tea at 3 or 4 and then pretty much stop for the day. At that time I would go for a long walk along the coast or pick camomile from the garden. I had so much time just to wander and think. Looking back at that experience I'm amazed at how much more at peace my mind was with that extra time to just absorb what was going on. Looking back at my journal I also realize how many ideas for sculpture/art projects I got while there. We live in such a fast-paced society and we hardly ever take the time we need to slow down. We all know this. I try to take a walk every day -- even just a quick one -- when I notice my attention and productivity dropping and it always helps me get back on track. Once again I have to completely agree with all this and just say well…why don't we take this advice to heart? It's definitely dependent on all the reasons mentioned above. It will have to be something we as a society begin to embrace and support…which is probably pretty far from happening.
Like Ruben, when I read an article that tells the reader that they need to take more "downtime" in their life, I ask myself, how is the author doing this? Can we afford to do this in school, life, or "the real world"? When I read the sentence:
"My eyes trace the contour of the same sentence two or three times, yet I fail to extract its meaning."
I can completely understand what the author is saying. When this happens to me, I simply have to stop doing what I'm doing and take some "me" time. There are times when we are too busy to take breaks, but the most healthy thing I can do is take a break after ever two hours of computer work time. 15 minute breaks is very different than week long breaks, but this is definitely helpful to me and one day, I hope to be able to take weeks off at a time.
This article is really thought provoking because it illustrates something that I hold near and dear to me: the art of doing nothing. Just meditating can really clear your mind and allow you to focus on what really needs to be accomplished. It's something that we have undervalued in recent years: the art of being alone with your thoughts. That being said, the people that could benefit the most from this time, namely artists, simply do not have this amount of time. I definitely agree with Ruben in that it's really hard to do this kind of meditation because we just have so much going on with our lives that when we actually have the opportunity to take that sort of time, we're exhausted as is. Personally, I'd rather sleep, but that's my humble opinion.
After I read this article, I felt the exact same way as Ruben. 92 days of not speaking to anyone or doing anything sounds great, but it also sounds like a lot of time that I don't have and it sounds like a temporary solution. Sure, most of the stress and every day worries evaporate while on vacation, but what happens when the vacation is over? I bet work is really productive for a about a week. On the other hand, taking a retreat like this, where the people aren't revolving around their work, sounds amazing. I've been thinking about this a lot recently; about how after a short night of dreaming about school, my first thought in the morning about which classes I have that day, whether or not I have crew, and If I finished all my homework that is due and when I am going to have time to do the homework that is due tomorrow. From the second I get up to the moment I fall asleep, the only things that I have done and thought/worried about have to do with school. It's all I talk about, it's all I dream about, and it's all I do except eat, and watch netflix sometimes. It's exhausting. Downtime sounds wonderful, just not possible.
You do not have to take 3 months off and leave life behind to give yourself a mental break. Emptying your mind and separating your personal life from your professional life is a much needed skill that people really need to invest soul searching time to realize. You need to have boundaries between work and your personal time. It takes discipline to turn off your phone and not look at those emails. You do not have to start big and block out three hours a day. Start by picking one hour a week where you can completely unplug and make sure that you have the self control to make sure that you have that time. It will help motivate you to manage your time better. The lesson that I am slowly learning is that you have to make sure that your profession does not come to define you. Walk away from work and make sure that you have outside interests. I know that we all say that "I have too much to do to have a hobby I am in theatre" but that is a toxic theory. If your job requires that you be on all the time that is a job that is unsustainable and you will burn out, it is only a question of when. In my undergraduate career I lived in the theatre and worked as many hours as I could find in a day but it made me a one dimensional human being. For your own mental health and well being, at least take up exercise. Go to the gym and let your mind wander it is good for your body and mental stability. Also if you do not have a hobby or interests outside of the theatre realm start to look into finding one, because as your interests become more diverse you will be exposed to more ideas and information which will make you a better technician and a better person. The idea that we do not have time and can not make time is simply not true. You have to have mental discipline and you need to work on your time management and you need to give your mind a break. No one can sustain a high level of concentration and focus without proper diet, sleep, exercise and some down time each week and relying on vices to get relief from the constant stress is an unsustainable coping mechanism that will ultimately lead to less productivity later on in your career due to illness. My personal quest has a long long way to go until I find that balance but in the past two years I have made leaps and bounds toward a balanced and healthy life style.
So I am actually taking a class for Stress Management right now and we started off a class with meditation. I agree that a mental break is necessary at times after a long day. This semester was a good example on how that overwhelming feeling can creep up on you if you do not take a breather when work and life gets to be too much. At the same time, Nate has a good point, do we have time to take out of our day and dedicate to this relaxation period? At the same time, as the article points out, people tend to be more productive if they are able to take a break. This is really just a cruel cycle to be honest.
This article feels very relevant to my life right now. I used to think, even earlier this year, that yes, downtime is important, but not a top priority and sometimes you just don't have time. But I'm actually learning that that isn't true. I'm not saying that we aren't busy, I don't think I have a lot of downtime. But I think that even when you have a ton of work to do, there are ways to manage your time to incorporate breaks. The thing is that you really need to plan these breaks. I think there's more time than we realize spent on checking facebook or emails or talking to someone for just a minute. But if instead of doing that with no breaks, you stay completely focused while working and then take a longer, planned break, its possible.
As far as the meditation retreat, I think that sounds amazing. I've been interested in silence retreats for a while, and I think today in the age of texting and cell phones and social media where we are really hardly ever completely closed off, being forced to be completely silent would be really cool.
I agree with Luke. Downtime is more of a balance than it is a need to separate yourself from the world for months at a time. A thing that I think not many people i the School of Drama realize is that having a personal and professional balance is a very important thing. Not everybody who is here in what is essentially your professional life for the time being has to know everything about you, because they're not necessarily a part of your personal sector. That doesn't mean you don't like them or enjoy working with them, it just means you don't know each other like that, which is OK. Likewise, there should be people who are a part of your "downtime" personal life. People you don't read your work e-mails around and just enjoy the company of without having to talk about what you do at work or in class or on production. I think many theatre people have a hard time with the concept of downtime because theatre in the past has been an all-consuming part of their lives. However, as many of us have just made the transition into adulthood here, it is important to realize that theatre can't be all you need forever. Which can be a difficult thing to come to terms with for some, and so they end up running themselves into the ground.
I am personally a strong advocate of incorporating "me" time into your incredibly busy day. While most people might say, "how can you take a break when there is so much to do??" Easy, you just do. The trick to it is finding the appropriate time to do so, and realizing that it will actually be more beneficial to you in the end. Now I'm not saying to take a 3 month mental break, because that is unnecessary. Just 30-60 minutes to do something that is totally unrelated to what you were doing. It will help you center yourself and become focused once again. For example, I will stop my work at some point in the night and play piano for about a half hour to an hour. It really helps to settle me down once again and regain my proactivity.
The issue of balance is rarely discussed within education, instead it is assumed. Similarly, while there have been many discussions about stress culture and balance, it is often negated by excessive workloads and an unspoken acceptance of long hours. In the past, I have found myself stressed out by a long to do list, and a seemingly never-ending workload. I am intrigued by a variety of ideas and activities, thus I find myself saying yes a lot, simply because I do not know how to say no. As a direct result, I found myself spread too thin, unpleasantly suffering through previous joys, living in a constant state of burn out. This year, I took a different approach, I learned to say no. No to extra electives, no to extra projects, no to excessive perfectionism, and for the most part, no to work after midnight. All of these nos are prompted by negative sentiment towards the project or class. Indeed, I think there are a multitude of opportunities I am not currently participating in. However, that which I am in I am enjoying to the fullest extent. I am available to meet with friends, to assist others with projects, and to start projects of my own. Similarly, I find myself enjoying theatre with friends or alone multiple nights a week. In short, it’s a trade off, and when I cashed in on overextension for balance, I gained a multitude of positive energy and a truly well rounded education. I would encourage my peers to join me!
I found this article to be very helpful. Susan Tsu told us about a lighting design professor friend of her's who made her students bake bread while creating their light plots. It seems that this activity, similar to brushing teeth, that required a little but not too much mental activity helps the mind be creative. Although it may be hard to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, I do want to try and spend more time outside and being "mindless".
I think this article has some really interesting and relevant things to tell the members of the School of Drama, and of the US in general as well. I've read a few articles recently about the difference between the American work-style and the European one, and every single one has said that the European model of giving people 20-35 paid vacation days (and the people actually feeling able to use them, unlike in the US, where using vacation days in some companies can seem like "slacking"), and things like a more reasonable maternity leave and length of work day in general, make people much happier and more productive, both personally and for society as a whole.
On a personal scale, this article makes a great argument for taking naps, breaks, and making sure to take time to unplug from work/school. People saying that "there's just no time for that" aren't taking what this article says to heart. There have been multiple studies that have shown that the brain still works in its downtime, and so taking 15 minutes to go for a walk or take a nap will actually help what you're working on.
After being a student at CMU School of Drama, I can say I definitely agree with this article. Because we are always SO busy, I've begun to really value and moment I have alone and quiet. I make an effort to eat a few meals alone and sit outside any time the sun is out just to let my brain relax and wander.
I disagree with Ruben's comment. Although it often seems like we cannot afford to take time off, in most cases we can spare the 10 - 45 minutes in a day it takes to do nothing and rejuvenate your mind for futher work. I am frequently in a position where I am overextended and have boatloads of work on my plate, but I still make the time to sit and do nothing for even a few minutes to clear my mind before moving on to my next task. Sure, we can't all take a 3 month meditation break (and for many of us in this line of work, that doesn't even sound terribly enjoyable as we love doing our work) however we can all spare a few minutes a couple times a day to keep ourselves functioning.
This article has got it right! Working in the entertainment industry, or training to work in the industry for that matter, is very tiresome and stressful. The work we do is demanding and I think its imperative that you take the time to relax and do nothing. For this reason I do my best to make a daily point of taking an hour to myself. During this hour I don't worry about school, work, or anything else. I consider it my sanity time and I'm a strong believer that it works, helping me feel energized and ready to tackle more tasks life has to throw at me.
What is this word that this author writes called "downtime". What kind of witchcraft is this. But seriously, after reading this article and the one last week about daydreaming I am getting constant confidence boosters throughout each week. To think, we actually NEED downtime, like it is intrinsic to our sanity is an awesome thing to think about. Unfortunately I, and I'm sure most of the people who post to this page, we do not get enough of it. To be honest, the extent of my downtime is turning on netflix while drafting or doing a design project, unfortunately that is the sad yet true story of our lives.
This article reiterates what I've been telling my floor and those close to me for quite some time now! You need rest. Your brain and body use it to recover, restore, refresh, and heal. However, I also understand this is America and this is CMU, it is hard to comprehend this sometimes and I am guilty of it as well, no doubt. This is definitely an article I am going revisit a few more times to try and understand everything said in it.
This article makes a lot of interesting claims that I feel like a lot of people already know but don't know that they are scientifically proven.
In Israel all the soldiers who finish the army do something similar to Michael Taft. They take a long trip abroad to rest and usually just travel the world for about 4-6 months (sometimes longer).
When you work so hard you have to take time for yourself or else you just won't be able to keep it up for so long.
Post a Comment