What is it about showers that induce me to start thinking ahead to the next day? Why can’t I simply enjoy the shower itself and not really think about anything at all?
Is this caused by the particular time I take showers? I do so at night right before I go to bed, so perhaps it triggers a sort of preparedness protocol and I start to get ready for the next work day. Best to not let any time go to waste, right? Get ready for tomorrow while I lather myself with suds.
This is a bad habit of mine that I prefer to get rid of, because thinking about the future takes me away from the present, and that’s always a dangerous game, not the least of which I don’t get to have the peace that the present is giving me (a shower should be a calming experience). How short-sighted is it to be thinking about tomorrow’s work when there’s still a whole night’s sleep to go; what usually happens is I carry those worries and simulations of what the next day will bring right into bedtime, which affects how quickly I can fall into slumber.
I need to just let it be.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the current situation that those of us with employment are slightly worried about how permanent it will remain. The coronavirus is still raging through this country, so there’s absolutely no predictability to the future; security one day can be gone the next. What do humans do when they feel like they don’t have control? They cling, and I reckon stressing over doing the job for the next day whilst in the shower the previous night is a form of clinging. The false impression that if I try extra hard at work, that will somehow save me from the layoff axe, should that come to be.
Even if there may be some truth to that, and that one should always strive to do the best regardless, stressing over work during off the clock hours is never a good thing. Unless that work is your life’s passion project, which my current employment definitely is not. In these times of COVID-19, having balance is crucial; those of us lucky enough to have the option, anyways.
Take care.
Pro keys.