No matter how many mental breaks I take, it just feels too much. And I always end up finishing with nothing. It felt like I was a little spec in front of gigantic monsters, I knew I was helpless. Online school works are so demotivating, and being isolated in a room makes it much more difficult because you have all the time in the world, all the control over what you do, so confident in yourself that you actually come to the point of really not knowing what to do next.
How can I go back to what I was doing when I don’t know where to start?
There were a few things I’ve learned in the past months, and surprisingly, as much as I hated doing online schooling, all of these were randomly resourced from online.
1. Start one little task at a time
“For example let's say, Tohru, that you are surrounded with a mountain of laundry piled so high around your feet that you can't move. Are you with me? Now, let's assume you don't have a washing machine, so you have to wash everything individually by hand. You would be at a loss for what to do, right? You'd worry about if you could ever wash everything, if you could get it all clean, if you'd ever have time for anything but laundry ever again! The more you'd think about it, the more anxious you'd get. But the time keeps passing, and the laundry doesn't wash itself. So what do you do, Tohru? It might be a good idea to start washing the laundry right at your feet. Of course it's important to think about what lies ahead, too, but if you only look at what's down the road you'll get tangled in the laundry at your feet and you'll fall, won't you? You see, it's also important to think about what you can do now, what you can do today. And if you keep washing things one at a time, you'll be done before you know it. Because fortune is looking out for you. Sometimes the anxiety will start to well up, but when it does, take a little break. Read a book, watch TV, or eat soumen with everyone.”
- Natsuki Takaya, Fruits Basket, Vol. 8
I will not anymore elaborate what this manga/anime is about, but this is one of my favorite dialogues from it. It already speaks for itself and I don’t know how else I could be more of a motivation. Natsuki Takaya really did well with addressing the feeling of being overwhelmed with a mountain of things to do. This helped me jumpstart my focus on school works, and I thought it might help you too!
2. You’re Mario! (or Luigi)
Wasn’t really fond of watching TEDtalks, sometimes they can be so lengthy. But there was one particular video/podcast I liked titled “tricking your brain into learning more”.
Basically the speaker said that when doing any task that seems difficult, we should think like we’re playing Super Mario. I’m not sure if all of you got to play that game as a kid, but every time a player tries to finish a level, there’s always those nasty angry mushrooms and tanky turtles. And every time Mario dies, you have the choice to play the level again.
The game never really ends. It’s not “game over, you can’t play this game ever again”. There’s always a try again option. Every time you do play the level again, you try to remember the last mistakes you made. “Oh, if I jump here, I’ll fall and die, if I hit this turtle accidentally I’ll die, oh, there’s this venus plant on this certain pipe that i have to watch out for”. The next time you retry the level, you already know what to do and what not to do. Surprisingly, you get to finish the level after numerous tries. Exhausting, not flawless, not as the best-most-pro player of all time, but you got to finish it.
There’s always a try again option.
It’s just up to us to decide if we’re willing to do the task again to see results, or if we’re totally giving up and throwing the game away for good.
Prayers, planners, writing daily goals, these are all good things. However, we can’t really achieve anything if we don’t start acting on it. Personally, these are what I do to have maximum productivity:
A healthy workspace - you’d be so surprised with how peaceful you can feel when your workspace is tidy and there are no distractions to look at or interact with
Limited phone time - have a set schedule for when you’re free to use social media, gaming, or entertainment apps on your phone. Install or use an app timer if you can. Instead of digital planners, use a notebook for reminders and schedules. Maybe tape it on your wall or work table so you can remember them. (Shout out to Pastor A for these wonderful reminders!)
Disconnect - don’t ever feel bad for not replying immediately to that one friend you talk to every day. Don’t ever feel guilty for muting everything just to finish what you have to, or to get some quality rest.
Rest - as much as you can. Know what? There’s nothing wrong with being tired for doing almost nothing. Clinically speaking, our bodies get physically exhausted by just thinking. Our mental exhaustion can translate into physical exhaustion, and it can lead to feeling fatigued, as if you can’t do or finish anything. And that’s okay! It’s okay to rest. Don’t feel bad about needing rest.
Pomodoro technique - doing tasks in small intervals and having breaks in between is a really helpful method to get things done little by little. It preserves your mental energy and helps avoid burnout! (of course, make sure that it’s only a 5 min. break! Really set a timer for this. Don’t get distracted)
Where do you really get your energy from? Is it something tangible? Is it something infinite? Does it really help you get better or does it help you spiral downwards?
Sometimes, we think that our energy sources are helping us, not knowing that they’re actually draining us. Keep an eye out on your life’s energy vampires. Energy vampires are those who drain us emotionally and mentally. That can be a person whose tiring to talk to, a bad habit, a bad hobby, things that are unpleasant to see or hear.
Refocus your energy source.
Recognize that things can get out of our control, and also recognize that we have Someone who has full control over our circumstances.
We can strive for greatness because He is with us (Exra 10:4). We can do things we think we can’t because He makes us stronger. We can throw our worries away and give it to Him to handle (1 Peter 5:7)
Remember, don’t focus too much on the mountain of laundry, you can always start with washing the first thing you have in front of you. Don’t throw everything away, you can always respawn like Mario does. It’s exhausting, yes, but it does get things done.
