True Confessions of a Workaholic:

Captain's Log #452

An entire day off...People tell me it is okay to relax. It is healthy to sit down and watch your favorite show, play your favorite video game or spend all day with your friends. Even I internally know this to be true and I dabble in the art of relaxation. Yet, there is a constant internal guilty feeling that I should be at the computer typing out an application, essay, article, story, etc. That I should be organizing or cleaning something. That I should be out of the house accomplishing something great...

Whenever I confess this to friends, I often receive the reply, "What can you do for others when you yourself are physically and mentally drained?" While this is valid, I believe that life is too beautiful and full of memorable and personality-changing experiences to spend time staring at a screen or rough-housing with friends. But then I think again and realize that those experiences that you have with friends and with characters in a book, show or game can be almost as powerful. So, how does one choose which to do?

These are thoughts I have had for years and they come about every weekend and every holiday. I found myself having the same thoughts this holiday break, which only began for me a few days ago. I was lying on my couch with my mother building a puzzle just next to me wondering what was best to do. If I did not work, it was early enough that it was not procrastination, but would I get caught in the web of relaxing for too long?

This is not a depressive mood where I have lost interest in doing anything. It is more of an internal conflict of interests, where I want to relax and have some fun, but I also want to be productive.

Now that I think about it, this may not be such a bad thing after all. Through all of these thoughts and long contemplations, I have begun to enjoy being productive and enjoy the work once I start doing it. Why complain about it when you can have fun doing it?

That is something I have recently found about the holidays to be so special: it gives you time to be both productive and relaxed in the ways that you want to be. You can organize your room and read a book in the same day. You can fill out an application or edit your resume while also going to the movies with your friends in the same day. It is a workaholic's dream.

One of my favorite inspirational videos is posted below and - while I have never experienced something to this extreme - it makes me think about how no matter how taxing a task can be you will never benefit yourself or those around you by complaining about it or showing your negativity.

I apologize that this article started off in a negative sort of way. Yet, I wanted to frame this article in the same way life is organized! Many of the positive realizations come from periods of negativity.

Happy Holidays everyone! Be productive, be relaxed and be happy!