Project x Project: To Slump or Not to Slump?

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sometimes I feel like productivity is the only way to go for me. I have to be seriously working on something, giving it my all, making plans, and working through them as steadfastly as possible. But, as you can imagine, it is pretty difficult to keep up that level of productivity all the time - especially when juggling being a full-time student and part-time worker. So it can feel sometimes like I'm in a bit of a slump.

This week, for example, I have taken off some time from work to spend with my boyfriend as he visits me for his spring break. I have done a lot of my homework in advance so that we can spend time together but, as you might imagine, there is still some downtime when we are enjoying each others' company without necessarily having a plan to structure the day. And that's when I get antsy. Shouldn't I be working on something? Should I read ahead in my book for the week after next? Should I start working on that collage project that I have been meaning to start? The questions keep on coming, and yet I don't actually enact any of these things. Is it a slump?

I have always wondered if this is really and truly the attitude of a perfectionist. Feeling slump-y just because I haven't started working on my "next big thing?" Sounds like it. But the feelings are there all the same, making me feel like a little kid squirming around at the opera.

So, I am going to open up the question to you. What do you do when you start to feel like you're in a slump? Is there anything that remedies these feelings? How do you spend your time? Let me know!