Before this past Wednesday, it had been a long time since I took a whole day to rest and do a few things for myself. For over a month, I went out somewhere and did something with other people. I love doing fun things with friends, but eventually it became too much for me. I found myself getting anxious, frustrated, and tired much more easily than usual. Plus I felt distanced from my friends and started making assumptions and reading into things, which only made me feel worse. Normally I go swing dancing on Wednesday nights but this week I decided to stay at home and relax; the place I go was closed that night, so I didn’t even end up missing anything. Since I didn’t have to go into work that day, I spent my time relaxing and doing things that I enjoy, which is one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time.
One of the first things I did on Wednesday after my usual morning routine was tend to my back. I had been dealing with pain around my shoulder blade since Monday and I finally decided to do something about it. My store manager said it was probably a muscle thing (she’s been dealing with that as well), so I reread this article from The Art of Manliness and went to work. I grabbed a racquetball, found a good wall to use, and rolled the ball against the areas of my back that hurt the most. After doing that several times in short bursts, the majority of my pain was gone and I could stand up straight and breathe much more easily.
After I had given my back some relief, I relaxed on the couch with my dog and watched “Groundhog Day”, which is one of my favorite movies. As I normally do when watching a movie, I put my phone on the table behind me and forgot about it until the movie ended. Unplugging from the internet and social media for almost two hours while enjoying a great movie was one of the most enjoyable things I did that day. Also, the movie inspired me to write a blog post about it, which I worked on here and there until I was satisfied with it. For the remainder of that day, I organized part of my room, talked with a friend on the phone, juggled a bit, and played a fun computer game.
It was wonderful to have a day to myself and be able to take it easy from beginning to end. I still got some productive things done, but I was able to avoid rushing and do them on my own time based on what I felt like doing. By the time I went to bed, I felt like I had had three days off instead of one since I used several tricks to slow down time; I hadn’t done that in a while and it was nice to get back to it. Wednesday was a much-needed break from always being on the go and never having much time to truly rest. As I write this, I feel at peace, refreshed, my back feels much better, my anxiety is gone, and I’m looking forward to interacting with others instead of dreading it. If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, frustrated, or otherwise burnt out, I highly recommend taking a day to rest and take care of yourself. It’s amazing how refreshing that can be and you don’t want to miss it.