Whenever I write this column, I attempt to source the ideas from my own life. Today, my mile-long to-do list, overbooked G-Cal, and daily switch from girlbossing to bedrotting served as my inspiration. On some days, I would wake up early voluntarily, plan my outfit, attempt to cook (yes, I don’t know how to cook), get a workout in, go to all my classes where I actually pay attention (shocker), eat all my meals at a normal hour, finish all my daily to-do list tasks, do my skincare routine, read a book for a bit and go to bed. However, on some days, it’s almost noon when I force myself out of bed, have a protein bar for breakfast, run to class, am mentally checked out in class, and my to-do list makes me cry. And unfortunately for me, the switch between each level of productivity is massively out of my control, and there rarely is a middle ground.
When you are in your slay era, everything seems perfect. You are actively trying to be the best version of yourself, striving towards all your goals, and balancing it all. While this seems empowering and society applauds this, it very rarely comes from a place of actual peace and productivity. Instead, it is often fueled by anxiety and fear of failure. You understand that you have to manage your academics and organizational commitments. In addition to that, you have to make sure you get movement in, drink enough water, meet your protein requirement, dress well, sleep eight hours, and more. That is very taxing both physically and mentally, and in between all of what you have to do because it’s required of you and what you should do because it’s good for you, you also have to find time for yourself and to do things that you enjoy. It is a lot to manage, and when you are constantly worrying about moving onto the next task or the next block in your calendar, you aren’t focusing on what’s actually in front of you. You view everything as something that you need to complete, and that takes the joy out of doing many things. This eventually leads to heightened anxiety and burnout.
Now, when you are in your bedrot phase, you’ve become a blanket burrito mindlessly scrolling on your phone. Your laundry isn’t done, and your wallet is crying from all the takeout you’ve been ordering. You know you have work to do, but you just can’t bring yourself to even start. You are exhausted despite being in bed all day and just feel overwhelmed and frustrated. It’s especially worse when you were in your A-game last week, but this week you’ve fallen considerably short. So why is this happening? Why don’t you feel motivated? Unfortunately, the answer to that is mental exhaustion. You certainly aren’t lazy, but your body and your mind need a break, and when you deny it consistently, it will force you to pause. By the time you realize this, you feel guilty and realize that in attempting to do it all, you’ve not been giving your body what it needs.
So why does this happen? There are many reasons. Everyone wants to achieve it all and be the best version of themselves. However, we aren’t built to be perfect. It’s important for all of us to give ourselves some grace. This involves giving our bodies and minds some breaks. The difficulty in that is that under the umbrella of capitalism where hustle culture is glorified. For this reason, it’s best to move at your own pace because what’s the point if you aren’t gonna enjoy what you do? The best way to not burn out and end up in a mental slump is to balance it out. Get through your to-do list, but give yourself breaks or reward yourself with something you’d enjoy that serves as a refresher. Take time with everything and know you don’t have to do it all in one day. I can confirm, however, that this is a lot easier said than done, but it is worth trying.
