Exactly a week ago, I have started working as an online English teacher as my part-time job to earn extra income. Naturally, this required me to change my usual routine. This meant that I had to allot the early hours (6:00AM - 7:00AM) of the day and a few hours in the evening (7:00PM - 10:00PM) for my part-time job, on top of my usual 9-5 full-time job, and my 4:00AM-5:00AM study time for my comprehensive exams for grad school.
This wasn't really a big change for me, since I am already used to waking up early and my bedtime is usually 10-11pm. But, after only two days in, I got sick. It seems like this new addition to my routine has overworked my body, to the point where I had to succumb to a forced rest and a 2-day leave from work.
Tbh, I HATE forced rests, and this stems from my tendency to always want to be in control of everything as much as I can. Forced rests would strip off my control over everything and sometimes, temporarily incapacitate me to even think of the adjustments I need to make to manage the delays caused by forced rests. So, I'd naturally be annoyed with this idea of being forced to rest.
However, sometimes, there is beauty in forced rests.
There is this incredible wisdom too, when finally giving in to the need to take it slow and take some decent rest.
I've been (forced) resting the past few days, and I can say that it really helped me to recalibrate and think of how to improve how I do things without having to overwork my body.
Not everyone has the luxury to take some rest, and this reality breaks my heart so I hope we can try to make this possible for everyone. But if you can and you're within your means to do so, please, take it slow and take some rest. And then go back at it, stronger and braver, next time. 😊