You are not lazy, you are processing

The Traveling Introvert

, I want to talk about processing time, there's been a lot of changes in the world in the past year or so, and I'm sure everyone has been dealing individually with changes in general. And to be fair, changes happen all the time. And sometimes when you don't realise that you feel like you're being lazy or unproductive, you might feel like just staying in bed for the day or reading a book or whatever it is that you like to do to help yourself feel better.

And for the longest while I was talking to a friend of mine, as always, these episodes, so many of them are inspired by a really good friend of mine. And we're talking and I was like, I don't want to do this. I don't feel like doing that. I have a couple of things that are up in the air in the moment. And so I don't want to move forward with these other things because things are up in the air.

And I said, this is just me using these things up in the air as an excuse to procrastinate. And she was like, you're not procrastinating, you need processing time. And I was like, yeah, but blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Move on a couple more days. And I'm complaining again that, yeah, I put this thing off and I'm putting this other thing off until these things get sorted.

And I should have some closure at least next week. And she once again was like, yes, I understand what you're saying, you need processing time. And I was like, oh, OK. And then I had a second friend be very much like, you need to do the pros and cons of this and you need to figure out this and this. And if all things are equal, which would you choose? And I was like, oh, I guess I need to.

And it's a process that because so much of my life, I have fallen into things by accident. And to be fair, whatever happens next, I would have fallen into it by accident as well. However, I never really realised I have the luxury to process and understand that I need to process. And even if I don't end up making a decision and the decision gets made for me, at least me processing everything that's going on is hugely important to my well-being and my ability to go ahead and do other things.

And so processing time, ladies and gentlemen, is what I want to talk to you about, giving yourself the time and I see yourself, your brain, the time to process. And that can mean many things. The brain filters through a lot of stuff. You have a lot of inputs coming in at you throughout the day, from email to social media to just being outside to talking to someone. There's a lot more inputs today than they have ever been.

And you have that along with whatever you're dealing with at the time. Maybe something's happening with your children at school, maybe works making a change. Maybe there's something happening in your personal life. You as an introvert, you as a human being, need to take the time to give your brain space to process. These things, and I don't think it will happen in a day very much like, oh, I've gone and I've written down all the things that are on my mind, I processed I can move forward.

Now, that is not how your brain works. Your brain is like, oh, you've written all the things down. That's great. You'll have some space. Now I want to fill up with stuff. Don't let your brain fill it with stuff. Sit, meditate, go for a walk, take deep breaths, pause, chill, relax. Think about nothing. Think about everything. Let thoughts float, don't feel the urge to write them down.

Just float back and do other things and then come back again an hour or two hours or a day later and focus again on that thing and process and think and float. You need a couple days where all you do is sit and eat cherries and strawberries all day while crocheting. Go for it if you need to colour, if you need to journal whatever it is, don't try and shove all these other things in your head. So I had a day off and I was like, oh, I need to plan the day off.

And I was like, my wait, I shouldn't plan a day off. I used to have it and I don't know, I got out of practise where I had one day a week, which just like do what my mind and my body tells me feels good at the time. And I stopped and I didn't realise I had stopped doing that. So don't feel you were being lazy. Don't feel that you're being unproductive. Remember that you need time to process everything that is coming at you.

Take that time to process. Don't be hard on yourself and you will find that life is easier. Thank you for listening. This is [e-mail] helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.