Thinking freely is fun. It's creative. It always feels productive. When you're letting your mind wander, you're laying the groundwork for a million future possibilities.
Deciding to actually do something that requires cognitive effort removes the freedom. You can no longer think about whatever you want. If you have a cool thought, you need to ignore it because it's distracting. Instead, you need to narrowly focus on one task. It feels like losing part of yourself.
Of course that's a terrible way to think about work and life, but it's how I find myself feeling at times.
"The need for cognition (NFC), in psychology, is a personality variable reflecting the extent to which individuals are inclined towards effortful cognitive activities."
It's like
A: Wow I respect people who can lift heavy stuff
B: Oh come on it's just a matter of workout
C: Holy shit I've had my share of trite flippant workout advice but I have myasthenia so workout won't cut it, come on.
(I react a bit strongly because I'd never give depression advice. I have no fucking clue about depression except that well-meant tips from people like me don't help, at best. I stay out of the way and leave depression to trained shrinks and people with experience)
A: "Im not sure I'd have the strength to do it myself if I had to" [because I'm depressed / have anxiety issues / am utterly burned out mentally].
B: "You'd have the strength to do that, too, if your (children's) livelihood depended on it. It's really not that hard if the other option is being evicted from your house."
C: You missed the [...] part.
The depression link is in square brackets. Can't say if it applies to 'HiroshiSan, but it applies to some people (to some extent, including myself - I had moments when I was barely hanging by a thread). Some people doubt they'd be able to handle it because they know they lack the psychological strength. And in depression, being threatened ("you have to do it, or else your family starves") may only makes things worse - it might just push someone past their breaking point.
Talking it through with her one day, it made great sense. At the end of her shift, once she'd tidied up and set up for the next shift, she would just walk of of the door and there would be no thoughts of work again until she clocked in the next time.
When I was programming my mind was always working, even on holidays ideas would pop up and I'd follow them. I am now in a family business which is with us 24 hours a day. There are times I'm envious of her ability to completely switch off.
I guess I adapted after working a stressful job at a gas station with lazy coworkers and bosses. I was also going to college and working at the same time. So I guess I needed to be able to leave work at work and do homework at home.
When I come home from work and I do some programming, the next day at work I am generally burnt out and don't do as well as a job if I had spent my time relaxing and resting.
I’m not. For me the hardest part is the switching back on bit. I’d rather not ‘switch off’ if it means having to ‘switch on’ a little while later.
I really don’t like weekends, for example. Not that I don’t like having two days off, but the fact that it is only temporary makes it somehow worse than not having it at all. Like you get a little taste of freedom and then it’s taken away. If given the choice I would rather work 7 shorter days than 5 normal days and a 2 day weekend.
I think everyone should do some boring work from time to time.
Reminded me of http://existentialcomics.com/comic/13.
And then there is the nature of working for others, in that it requires a "sacrifice of ego." I shut down everything and become a work horse. I work for hours on end, because this is what I'm supposed to do for a living. I can't question if I really want to be doing this because that would cause me to procrastinate. Instead I become my work. Sometimes I enjoy what I do, but I am specialized in specific technologies so I'm doing a variation of the same tasks over and over. That's the life of this "modern worker."