This "purgatory" is harmful. When you feel like you must be productive all the time, or feel overwhelmed about having so much to do, it's easy to feel guilty a

This "purgatory" is harmful. When you feel like you must be productive all the time, or feel overwhelmed about having so much to do, it's easy to feel guilty anytime you're not working. That puts yourself between a rock and a hard place. When I feel myself slipping into that mindset, I tell myself "it's time to wind down a little" and enjoy the free time I allot myself. I realize I'm "wasting" time that I could technically be using to work, but I also realize it's necessary and overall beneficial to take a break or recharge by sleeping. I'm sure you'll get a lot of advice on this thread about what to do to break out of purgatory. I think the most valuable advice is to realize that while in purgatory it's quite easy to dismiss any advice due to pessimism or "fuck it I just need to do work"-ism. I think most of the battle is breaking free from your guilty timewasting/not-sleeping habits, and mustering up the willpower to try any of things people suggest. At least that's how it was for me.