Many people take much time off or work during Christmas and New Year, but it's at a different intensity and pace. I find that a phenomenon that can often occur during this period is that some people, myself included, can experience feelings of emptiness, restlessness, boredom, and even some worthlessness.

I saw a tweet by Glennon Doyle talking about it as a Productivity Detox, and she also used the word worthlessness. When we're not in that production-doing mode, sometimes we feel like we lack a purpose, and some of those feelings can come through that restlessness or worthlessness.

First of all, I want to tell you that you're not alone because it's standard to start to feel like something is wrong with you for feeling that way.

There is a tendency to fill the time gap with action. It could be running to Starbucks, going on your phone, or trying to make plans or outrun some of those feelings. So, what I found super helpful is to normalize that many people are experiencing this. You also need to try only sometimes to outrun it.

I know this is hard, but I want you to approve those feelings and not make yourself wrong for having them and then allow those feelings to be there. It can be counterintuitive because we often want to do the exact opposite. However, I notice, especially with boredom, that the more you allow it, the more you can be creative and amazing things come through.

You need to allow yourself to be bored without feeling the space.

My daughter was bored last night and immediately looked for me to entertain her and get her out of that feeling. I was also experiencing it on a lower level, so we just let ourselves feel the boredom, feel that restlessness, and go inward instead of always trying to have someone else try to get us out of it.

It's really…really hard, like I have to do this work myself, so I know how difficult it can be. But sure enough, maybe after a half hour or so, we were both doing our own thing. I was starting to have some creative ideas for my business, and she was learning how to do crow pose by watching some yoga videos. Note: This is not in that frantic I have to get out of this way, but she was genuinely interested in trying to master that pose.

Learning to allow those negative feelings to be there is complex, but sometimes, really cool stuff emerges on the back end. You can create new things, whether you cook from a new recipe or do something you wouldn't have if you had escaped that feeling.

It's okay to go through this Productivity Detox. It's normal, and you don't have to feel bad about yourself for feeling that emptiness, loneliness, restlessness, or even worthlessness.

Remember that you are worthy no matter what because that's already accounted for; it's already a done deal. See if you can feel some of those feelings even for 10 minutes without escaping them. I promise you, if you don’t let it, it'll just be there waiting for you even if you had that glass of wine, make that Starbucks run, or do some work.

So, learn to embrace that emptiness and let creativity emerge on the other side of it.

I hope this is helpful. If you're struggling with this and want more work around it, please send a connection call to me, and we can set up a time to talk.

Have a fantastic day, and Happy New Year!

Melanie