Some Sabbatical ...

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   Jacqueline4390posted 7 years ago

   
   After writing a 15 part murder mystery, I promised myself I would take a Sabbatical. However, I find myself "fine tuning" some hubs--anything but taking it easy. Am I a workaholic or does the slowing down process take time? I really need the relaxation but I find myself backsliding back to my hubs.
   
   H E L P, I could use some relaxation tips!

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      kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Jacqueline, I am glad that you asked that question. As it turns out, I am an expert at dealing with and coping with workaholicism because I happen to be a recovering workaholic after working 20 + HOUR days on end at my last job before I had to retire thanks to my health.
      My job, FYI, was in a weekly newspaper and the tasks one has to do is stressful-but-fulfilling, but can be like beasts that literally eat you up inside.
      What I did is substitute other tasks that take time to accomplish, but do not create an atmosphere of dangerous stress.
      I build birdhouses, a hobby that I thought would be easy. Not! It is very exacting and nerve-racking, but unlike hubbing, I can quit anytime that I choose.
      And throughout a six-month "treatment," I do stop.
      Do not take this answer as my making light of your situation. Workaholics are really never at ease for they always seek other avenues of work to do.
      I also suggest reading books that you despise. Why? Because this helps to build self-discipline and that one thing is the foundation of happiness and choice for a workaholic.
      I hope that this has helped.
      Kenneth

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         Jacqueline4390posted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Kenneth, I really appreciate your comments. One would think after retiring from the IRS I would know the meaning to turning about page on life. But know ... I have to find new ways of keeping my mind busy. I am "happy" to know that I do not share this complaint alone. However, with me it is really going to be hard because I have a mind that will not stop to relax. Even when I watch TV I have either a laptop or IPad since I "fired" the TV from my office. (Have to give it up ... old model with the big body; not the panel type.) So, did that help ... nope! I just continue to find things to keep me busy.
         
         In the past, the only time I was able to find time off was when I get sick! Reason for my retirement. I spent a week in the hospital with a bleeding stomach and a temp of 106. Also BP was down to 98/58. And if that wasn't bad enough ... I get Breast Cancer!
         
         So, I desperately need to relax like yesterday!

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            kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Jacqueline4390, you said "I GET" breast cancer. I pray that you do not have that terrible disease now. Do you need me to help you with something?
            I also pray that you find the time---even make the time to relax even if it's for only fifteen minutes at a time.
            Happy Labor Day!

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               Jacqueline4390posted 7 years agoin reply to this

               The reason I said "I Get" Breast Cancer is because the doctors didn't know why I had it. There are abnormal genes in the body that can predisposition cancer. I had genetic testing and all my genes are normal. There were also no hormones that were feeding the cancer but it was so aggressive that it would not have been long before it would have consumed me. Thank God that I have yearly mammograms. I never even knew I had it. Didn't feel a thing. I have always felt that stress has a lot to do with Cancer and unfortunate for me I stress very easily. Anyway surgery took care of the cancer cell and I went through Radiation Therapy and Chemo-Hell!

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                  kenneth averyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank God you are well.

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                     Jacqueline4390posted 7 years agoin reply to this

                     That is exactly who I thank

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   lobobrandonposted 7 years ago

   Just wondering. Why do you think you need to relax? Are you being stressed out with your hubs or are you enjoying working on them? If you enjoy working on them, then isn't that equivalent to relaxing?
   
   In the past I guess just sitting in the garden reading, knitting, etc could have been something you did to be free of stress. Maybe you get the same accomplished via working on your hubs? And it's a good thing to always keep yourself occupied and doing something productive after retirement, just think of it as exercising the brain.

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      Jacqueline4390posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      What a revelation! I do enjoy writing, my hubs, my short stories and novels. However, I can take something that I enjoy and turn it into an obsession. I need breaks in order to relax an otherwise super active brain. A lot of people enjoy eating but it can become a problem if not managed properly. I do not want my writing to become that. Like a light bulb, I want to be able to turn it off at will. Otherwise, yes it will become burdensome.

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         lobobrandonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Then why not just do what I do? If I got something really important to do, I tell myself I'd work on it for a certain amount of time and only then can I play online. It doesn't always work. But to an extent it does get things done. Find something else to do or maybe just take a nap, a stroll, or talk to your neighbors. Until you spend say X hours of doing this you do not get to write. If you're scared it's going to be an obsession, make it a prize instead. It's definitely still going to make you want to do it but you also have a goal that you need to complete before you can fall victim to your addiction (or workaholism - if that's a word). Writing isn't harming you, so if you can't get rid of it, that's not a worry, just try and control it as much as you can. Over time you should be able to switch the mood to write on and off.

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            Jacqueline4390posted 7 years agoin reply to this

            WOW, were it that easy but worth a try. When a person has been writing since age 9 it's pretty hard to taper down. I even get ideas riding in the car with family or listening to a song. I will make an effort to pace myself but I am surrounded by technology in my home office and I will sit down at the computer to play a game but get an idea on how to improve a hub. With grown children away from home (empty nest) and divorced, it's mostly me. My neighbors are weird.

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