It’s OK to have a slow day

We put so much pressure on ourselves to be continuously productive. But we all know, deep-down, that this is an unsustainable, and frankly, highly unenjoyable way to live.

Sometimes, our bodies speak louder than our minds. Some days, we are more tired; we ache, we find it more difficult to get out of bed. This is true for me, especially in the dark winter months. And so we are forced to take it slow on those days. We know we need the rest, and yet we feel guilt. We feel shame. We berate ourselves for not being able to fully submit ourselves to our labour. We apologise for not getting that thing done, even though there was no arbitrary deadline. And those feelings of guilt and shame send is spiralling into exhaustion. It is a literal vicious cycle.

It’s OK to have a slow day. We all need slow days. We need days where we can think and reflect. We need days where we can create space to make important decisions without the inevitable pressure of time and artificial emergencies. Slow days allow us to recharge our bodies and our minds, so that we have the mental and physical energy to think more creatively and more innovatively. Think about those times when you step away from the code and finally solve that bug you’ve been working on for hours. You need to step away more often.

Productivity and progress is not only measured by deliverables, such as lines of code, features, or blog posts. You are more than what you produce. You are your ideas, your thoughts, and your actions. Ideas come to healthy, energised humans. Ideas come to those who make space and make time. And actions can only be performed by those who have the energy, when they made space and time to rest.

It’s OK to have a slow day. I wrote this on a slow day.