Tired is Counterintuitive

I am usually not tired on the days when I do the most.

And I have felt at times most lethargic on certain Sundays and holidays.

I know I am not the only one, and I don’t think it has anything to do with the Sunday Scaries.

I have seen people maniacally energized after a 16 hour day of packing and lugging boxes as they moved out of their place, or have enough adrenaline to embark on a whole new multi-hour project after a day filled with dozens of unrelated calls and meetings.

It doesn’t matter if the work is considered menial or involves the most intellectually stimulating topic there is.

In theory, days with less inherent energy and scheduled business should allow for the same intensity, if not more. But that intensity is harder to generate.

It paradoxically takes more focus and planning because you are not shepherded through a busy calendar of pre-scheduled context-switching every 30 or 60 minutes.

I also find that the busier I am, the more time I am able to make because I use every minute so much more voraciously. As the saying goes:

If you want something done, give it to a busy person.

As I write this on a holiday weekend I notice someone attempting to read nearby and checking their phone every couple minutes, which — granted — might be a different issue altogether… for another post.

So I have developed a love / hate relationship for these naturally “slower” days — Sundays and holidays.

If I architect them well, I play tennis, maybe go on a hike or get a massage, spend hours in conversation with close friends or focused on a project that I really care about and end up progressing on my work and / or learning a lot.

If I do not, the soporific languor of the day envelops me and I drowsily move throughout the hours, unsure of what I am doing, mind awash with social media, YouTube or other useless content, often wasting the time I have been given.

Yes, long stretches of uninterrupted time are the ultimate luxury.

If you spend them with the right people, engrossed in activities you love or that matter to you, they can be amazing.

But they are daunting for a reason.

Most people don’t like open-ended prompts, blank sheets of paper or canvasses.

It leaves them to themselves and they have to more actively become the architects of their lives, which might be the hardest thing to do.