Leonard Ng

Why You Fall Sick the Minute Your Vacation Begins

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Image by Benjamin Combs.
Image by Benjamin Combs.

It happens over and over again:

The work is done, the loose ends are tied up, and all your responsibilities have been handed over. You’ve been working extra hard and you’ve had to put in some extra hours over the last couple of weeks to get it all settled — but it’s all totally worth it, because now you’re on vacation!

And then you get sick.

You get a fever. Your nose drips. Your throat gets sore. Your allergies act up.

All you want to do is lie in bed and be grumpy all day.

This sucks.

If you’re one of those people with a tendency to get sick the moment you take a break from work, this post is for you.

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How to Be Mindful When You Don’t Have Time

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hawk
Image by Adrian Kirby.

Meditation is good, but you don’t practise it.

You’re too busy, or you have too many things to do, or you’re always in a hurry to get somewhere, or you’re too tired at the end of the day.

And even when you do sit down to try and empty your mind, you feel a massive sense of guilt about everything else you ought to be doing instead.

(Oddly enough, sitting still for 15 minutes feels like a giant waste of time, while 15 minutes spent on social media doesn’t…

…because one forces you to pay painful attention to the messed-up inside of your head, while the other lets you take refuge in comforting distraction.)

Whatever your reasons, it all boils down to one thing:

You don’t have time.

So here are three ways to remain mindful even when you’re on the go — quick check-ins that will bring you back to the present moment and allow you to centre yourself before your next activity.

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What to Do Before You Burn Out

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Image by typographyimages.
Image by typographyimages.

You know what it feels like. You dread going to work. You feel tired all the time. You get upset about little things like people not saying hello to you in the morning.

You’re far too busy and overloaded to get the job done right, so you’re just phoning it in. You find it hard to focus. You stare into space a lot.

You used to love your job and you worked very hard at it. Now it seems like work never ends. It’s all-consuming. You no longer have time for former friendships and hobbies.

You feel like you no longer care about anything anymore.

All you want to do is escape.

And you hate it.

Welcome to Burnout

What is burnout, anyway? Here’s my definition:

Burnout is what happens after a period when your energy expenditure has been consistently greater than your ability to recover, draining your reserves to the point where you have no energy left.

That is, you’ve been draining the tank for too long and now you’re running on empty.

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Why I Sleep So Much, And Why You Should Too

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sleeping cat
Image by Inge Wallumrod.
A Surprising Revelation

People often react with surprise when I tell them how much I sleep.

They wonder how I find time for everything in my life while still sleeping as much as I do.

And they also know that I can often be found awake at any hour of the day or night.

So how much do I sleep? The “surprising” answer: an average of 7-8 hours a day.

Matching Your Life’s Rhythms

Modern life often requires us to stay up late, whether because of major deadlines or because of major partying.

And forcing yourself to go to bed at the same time every night requires a level of regimentation that few of us are prepared to put up with.

That kind of strictness also fails to take into account the varying energy expenditures of each day. Some days we push ourselves harder, and so we need more rest. Other days we take it easy, and so we need less rest.

Trying to go to bed when you’re not ready to do so will only result in you lying awake for an hour or more, unable to get to sleep. And forcing yourself to stay awake after your mind and body have had enough will compromise the quality of your mental and physical performance.

Neither of these situations is ideal.

Instead, we need to become more aware and respectful of the unique rhythms of our individual lives, and then match our sleep patterns to those rhythms.

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The Five Elements: A Systematic Approach to Holistic Living

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coloured journals
Image by Liz Weston.
A Comprehensive Approach to Personal Growth

Modern life is a pretty complicated bagful of kittens.

On the one hand, we’ve come to believe that there’s more to life than making money, having fun, raising a family, and staying out of trouble (or getting into trouble, if that’s what you prefer).

But on the other hand, there’s so much going on in life that we hardly know where to begin.

We might want to get every part of our lives running happily along and playing nicely together… but there just seems to be so much to consider. We have noble dreams of balance and fulfilment and harmony, but how can we keep track of it all?

That’s where five-element theory comes in. It’s a system I use to ensure that my days are meaningfully spent, and it works, too.

Basically, this is an old concept which uses the five classical elements as shorthand for the various aspects of life: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Void (or as I prefer to call it, Whitespace). Put together, these five cover just about every aspect of human growth and personal development.

If you’re anything like me, this approach will give you a framework that can help you shape your life more wisely and effectively than you ever thought possible.

Let’s get to it.

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