I’m horrible about keeping my computer running for days on end. I work on it late into the night and early morning hours and then just crash when I can’t stay up anymore, leaving my computer running until I get back on it first thing when I wake up.
The problem with this is that the computer gets tired. It can’t handle staying awake so long. It needs to sleep and restart.
Just a few minutes, five at most, is all it takes. The reason I don’t do it, though, is because it doesn’t just take the time. It also means I have to close the 12 tabs I have open and waiting on my browser. It means collecting my thoughts and streams of work and funneling them down.
The same happens with life, day to day.
I’m horrible about pushing way too long, staying up late working on projects or just chatting online. I’m not a fan of breaks. I’d rather finish what I’m doing than take a break, always continue, continue, continuing…
The problem with this is that I get tired. I can’t handle going so long. I need to stop and restart.
It doesn’t take much time. The reason I don’t do it, though, is because it doesn’t just take the time. More than that, it means restructuring how I live. Americans aren’t usually well set up for restarting. Thankfully, this job in Saudi helps with it.
Just last week, I vacationed in Egypt. Now that I’m back, I’m starting a new term with new students, new material, and a new classroom. This works out well here, a new batch every eight weeks.
I need to restart like this. I need to work these restarts into my routine. I need to pause and sleep and begin fresh again, like my computer.
