You need rest with your eyes open
What went unnamed and un-spoken-about for a long time has finally made headlines: Revenge procrastination!
Many of my clients breathed a sigh of relief to know that they were not the only ones staying up late, not totally knowing why, and suffering the consequences of lost sleep. Not only does revenge procrastination take away from the quantity and quality of our sleep, it also has the tendency to not be all that restorative since we aren't doing anything intentionally. Revenge procrastination, at least for me, always has more of a mindless, meandering, not quite sure what I'm looking for quality.
The reason behind revenge procrastination is that we just are not getting enough time to ourselves, enough rest, enough restorative activity while we are still awake. Without that rest with eyes open, we feel deficient and deprived. When we get enough, we are more capable of mindfulness, compassion, noticing what is happening in the moment, what we need, and how best to respond.
Sometimes the things we do to restore end up draining us further; at least that's been my experience with Netflix. Rest with eyes open might include:
- open eye meditation
- gentle yoga
- restorative yoga
- sitting outside and looking up into the trees
- sitting on a park bench and watching people go by
- going for a walk without a specific destination
- baking bread
- playing with the dog or cat...or turtle, or parrot, or ferret
- painting, drawing, coloring, or sculpting modeling clay
- listening to music...really listening
Even if for just a few minutes a day, getting some rest with your eyes open can help you work with the urge for revenge procrastination and continue to tend to your lovely body, heart, and mind.
What will you do with eyes open?