Movement Matters
Right now is not the time to be a couch potato. While yes, it may be very tempting, I don’t recommend it. Instead buy some real potatoes and try to make some cepelinai. Challenge yourself. Do something new. Develop good habits and strong discipline.
I mean, nah, just Netflix and chill right now, ride out this storm possessed by entertainment. Is that what you’d rather have me write? Give a thumbs up to laying down, laying low, relaxing day and night, waiting it out? Blup no!
Take a look in the mirror. Not a real mirror, an imaginary one. One that you only see. One that is true. Not one you’d like to portray. What are you doing during this COVID-19 pandemic? Answer that for yourself. Then think if what you’re doing you should be doing. Think if you’re happy with what you’re doing.
Whether you’re still going to work, working from home, or unemployed right now, with so many places closed, with words like “social distancing” so prominent, you probably have a good amount of time to be at home, or at least more than usual. What do you normally do at home? Or better yet, what did you used to do at home when you were home less often? Were you working on projects, making things, reading, and having fun? Or were you taking a moment to relax after a long day, chill, watch a show, a movie, the news, and have fun doing those things?
If you were doing the former you’re probably on fire right now, figuratively speaking. You might be making amazing things for yourself, for the world, learning new skills, and taking quarantine time to be really active. Which if so, great, thank you!
If you were doing the latter and continue to do so at more extreme levels, how do you feel? Is this what happiness is to you, are you living life? Would you like to continue to do this for weeks or months to come? Or are you bored, feeling unhealthy, and want to get back to how things were before the coronavirus?
It is up to you to decide what you want to do with your time, what you enjoy doing, and how you will proceed in these times of uncertainty. I’m not here to tell you what to do. I can suggest ideas to think about, maybe even recommend options, but I don’t have the answers, know that.
Personally, I’m actually a bit surprised with the productivity I’ve had in the past few months. But it could also be seen as something not so surprising. Because in general over the years I’ve experimented with different forms of discipline and ways to go about being super active and productive. For example, one time I came up with something to do in the month of April specifically. Or better yet, something to go in. Have you ever seen Dragon Ball Z? If so you might be familiar with the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. I used that idea to make something called the Aprilbolic Time Chamber. I forgot if it was for the whole month of April or 10 days or so, but the idea was that I would get in the Aprilbolic Time Chamber and during that time be super productive, make and do so much, produce, and just go at it that after I got out it would appear that the amount of output and work I did was done over the course of a longer timeframe. That was one of my experiments that was to help expedite and maximize output. And if done right with serious discipline and good decision making it can be very beneficial.
Another thing I experimented with was turning my phone off for several days. Or not getting distracted with temptations for instant gratification. My experiments were sometimes broad, other times more focused, or combined with different ideas to implement, et cetera, et cetera, but the point I want to get at here is that this has been an interest of mine, trying different ideas out to help me be active and productive. So, in the past couple or so months when turning a TV on can be so easy to do I find it interesting that my TV hasn’t been on much. I’ve been in motion, physically and mentally, and it’s been exciting to just be working on projects.
Now here’s the thing, one day I’d like to actually try to be in bed or just chill all day and just watch movies, shows, whatever. Have maybe a physical and mental vacation. But it’s tough to do that. Because there is so much I want to do, it’s hard to just sit still and watch something, especially during the day, for hours on end. And something to think about is that maybe overdoing something, like sitting, chilling, and watching TV all day and night for days on end might actually ruin the joy of doing such a thing in moderation. Now, myself, I enjoy movies and shows, but usually at night, maybe during dinner sometimes. But I also enjoy just being creative, making things, learning, experimenting, moving, and doing. The key is balance and variance. Then enjoyment can really remain. Maybe even a continued appetite. Be careful to not destroy enjoyments you’ve had before this pandemic due to overdoing them. That’s all.
