It is very easy to do nothing. And yet why does it make us so tired? Anyone who has been to a technical rehearsal of a production, as an actor, understands that it's not the acting that is draining but the sitting around for hours on end doing absolutely sod all.
At the moment I have a lot of time on my hands. It would be very easy for me to get up, roll down stairs, put on the TV and just do nothing. I could even just stay in bed and enjoy the luxury of an iPad. Would I enjoy it? Yes. Would I feel ashamed? Yes. Would I also feel slightly smug that I could sit on the sofa all day long? Yes.
When I decided to change my career from security and defence consultancy to television (a natural job progression...) I knew there would be long periods of time when I would have nothing to do other than applying for jobs. Boredom, for me, is quite dangerous. I'm the kind of person that loves being busy and hates not having something to do and yet sometimes finding the motivation can be a challenge.
This weekend I was supposed to be working on a shoot but it got cancelled at the last minute. Part of me thought, great, I can have a lie in and just catch up on TV but I knew this would be a dangerous trend to set. So, I got up, pulled up my pants and got on with things I had been putting off for a while. I baked, tried to resurrect my at-death's-door herbs, painted, drew, read, watched TV and enjoyed the sunshine. And I don't feel tired at all. If I had spent the day in front of the sofa I know I wouldn't be writing this now and I would feel physically, emotionally and mentally beat. Instead I feel great for having something to say about my day.
This is me saying, in my usual long winded fashion, sometimes its a good idea to do nothing, sometimes you need some time out. But when you are feeling sorry for yourself, sometimes you just need to get up, put some clean clothes on and use the day. Use it to learn something new, to make something, to rediscover something old, to kick some ass or just to show the world that you are still here and mean business.
So get up. Do something. Maybe you might just feel that little bit more alive. What have you got to lose? Off you go. Fly my pretty, fly!
At the moment I have a lot of time on my hands. It would be very easy for me to get up, roll down stairs, put on the TV and just do nothing. I could even just stay in bed and enjoy the luxury of an iPad. Would I enjoy it? Yes. Would I feel ashamed? Yes. Would I also feel slightly smug that I could sit on the sofa all day long? Yes.
When I decided to change my career from security and defence consultancy to television (a natural job progression...) I knew there would be long periods of time when I would have nothing to do other than applying for jobs. Boredom, for me, is quite dangerous. I'm the kind of person that loves being busy and hates not having something to do and yet sometimes finding the motivation can be a challenge.
This weekend I was supposed to be working on a shoot but it got cancelled at the last minute. Part of me thought, great, I can have a lie in and just catch up on TV but I knew this would be a dangerous trend to set. So, I got up, pulled up my pants and got on with things I had been putting off for a while. I baked, tried to resurrect my at-death's-door herbs, painted, drew, read, watched TV and enjoyed the sunshine. And I don't feel tired at all. If I had spent the day in front of the sofa I know I wouldn't be writing this now and I would feel physically, emotionally and mentally beat. Instead I feel great for having something to say about my day.
This is me saying, in my usual long winded fashion, sometimes its a good idea to do nothing, sometimes you need some time out. But when you are feeling sorry for yourself, sometimes you just need to get up, put some clean clothes on and use the day. Use it to learn something new, to make something, to rediscover something old, to kick some ass or just to show the world that you are still here and mean business.
So get up. Do something. Maybe you might just feel that little bit more alive. What have you got to lose? Off you go. Fly my pretty, fly!