Earn Your Breaks... Then Take Them!

 

I met a lot of weird people in philosophy grad school.

But perhaps the weirdest dude was a political philosopher who at some point had cutting-edge surgery to remove a brain tumor.

He went by 'Dave' and was kind of an oddball Sage type.

He would ramble on and on about all kinds of topics that did not seem totally related to what everyone else was talking about.

For example, in a discussion about the nature of reasons for action or moral responsibility, he would start going on about how theories are maps.

This would naturally confuse people...

But then...

Weeks... or even months later...

It would hit you...

"OH! THAT's what Dave meant!"

Theories (like maps) are instruments that we use to carve up and navigate a terrain of conceptual possibilities. Not perfectly accurate and exhaustive descriptions of the facts about something.

That is, theories are more like (useful but imperfect) models than they are like (perfectly detailed) photographs

Like others, I learned a lot from Dave and his weird but cool phrases.

He has many. But perhaps my favorite one is:

"Earn your breaks... then take 'em!"

The first part is standard, you have to work hard, you have to get some progress done so as to earn your break.

But the second part is one that is all too easily forgotten, especially among people who want more out of life.

All too often, we work hard. We make progress. And we earn our breaks...

But we don't take them...

And instead, choose to grind ourselves down.

Until we become ineffective.

You have to not only earn your breaks but THEN ACTUALLY TAKE THEM!

Otherwise, you won't be nearly as productive as you could be.

Even if you're always doing something.

In order to be truly productive, you need not only to take action.

You also need to take a step back from work.

You need to take a well-earned break.

You need to recharge and recuperate.

And once you do...

You'll find that you can get back to what comes next with newfound energy and dedication.

By distributing your time and efforts in this way, you create synergy in your life..

You build what some philosophers like to call a "dynamical organic unity."

It is basically a way of arranging your time so that what you get out of the whole is greater than what you could get out of the parts by themselves.

By striking the right balance and mix of activities across time, we can get much more out of them.

By getting the right rhythm of break-earning and break-taking, you can skyrocket your level of productivity.

For you'll be able to fully focus on earning those breaks

On getting what needs to be done with clarity and energy.

AND fully focus on taking those breaks.

On relaxing and recuperating.

This technique is especially powerful in keeping you motivated for those LONG projects that can seem to have endless boring parts for you to deal with.

By making sure you are regularly weaving rest and effective work together, you can stay the course.

Because even when the going gets really rough...

You're still making progress...

AND

Taking care of yourself.

So have fun earning and taking those breaks!

You'll be happy you did.

And you'll get a lot more done.

It's a win-win for your life and your work.

Santi Sanchez is a Ph.D. in Philosophy. He has spent almost twenty years dedicating his life to philosophical research and practice in order to figure out what makes a life truly good and how to make it even better.

If you're interested in this and other ways to use philosophy to improve your life, download my free Philosophical Guide to Building a Truly Good Life On Your Own Terms right here: https://www.promiseofphilosophy.com/free-guide-to-truly-good-life.

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