Taking time off to do something fun when you can’t afford to.
This is most relevant to my life right now with my O&G OSCE (clinical examinations) on Friday, short cases (biggest clinical exam of med school) next Tuesday and two gigantic exams (testing us on literally everything we learnt in med school) the week after that all crashing down at once. The sheer pressure of all of this is really pushing all of us (5th year med students) to a point of anxiety, depression and insanity, and without some way to relieve that stress somewhere, we’d probably end up jumping off somewhere tall or go on a shooting spree.
I personally believe human beings feel the happiest when they are enjoying a luxury they cannot afford. For example, having a nice dinner out once in a while even though your budget is straining. The same applies to time. No matter how busy life gets, just stop what you’re doing and take some time for yourself. Whether it be spending a couple hours having lunch with a friend, playing card games for half an hour, or singing a song on your guitar for ten minutes. Hell, go to the park and lay on the grass for even five minutes, doing nothing but staring into the blue, blue sky. Trust me, it will make a huge difference to your mental health and work productivity.
Here’s an analogy from an old ARK post:
There are two clocks: a still clock and a clock that is always a minute late.
Which clock is more accurate?
The answer is the still clock – it tells the correct time twice every day, but the other clock is always wrong despite the fact that it constantly ticks.
Sometimes when life gets you down, it is better to stop and rest instead of trudging on forever, always out of sync.
(Source: https://jineralknowledge.com/two-clocks)
