Virginia WaltonIf you think that the reason you are exhausted mentally and probably physically is because of your job or the fact that the corporate culture you live in believes anyone with an officer title should be in meetings from at least 9am to 5pm non stop, I’m here to tell you that is not completely true.
Don’t get me wrong, that is part of it, but the bigger part is you! Yes, you and me too! I was not the only person that complained about meetings all day and then having to start your ‘work’ at 5pm, but there were others that took it in stride and left at decent hour. True some of them just delegated better or over delegated, but the point is we are where we are because of how we choose to react to our environment. I know that is tough to hear, but that is why I am saying it. We all need the reminder. Self-included.
If you are a high achieving, type A, control freak, people pleasure, competitive SOB, you are my kind of people! Hey, we are the ones getting things done, advancing ourselves, our teams, we sweat the details and meet deadlines. We are assets to the organization, to the community, to our families. But at times, not to ourselves.
If you are thinking there is no help. Stay with me, there is!
I am in complete control of my calendar these days. I had to re-learn how to manage my time without someone owning me Monday to Friday. This taught me two things:
- It is actually harder to plan your day when you have white space on your calendar. At least if you were living in the environment, I mentioned earlier. It requires more discipline and focus when no one is telling you what meeting to go to.
- You can still hit the wall even without a full calendar. It is about how much you are taking on. I see white space and think “I have time” but in reality, I have a lot to do to run a business that is not just meetings. So, then I fill the time with community work. I already did more than my fair share in my community. When there was a need I stepped up. Between this, the administrative work for field hockey, additional responsibilities at church. The heightened stress levels a few weeks ago, all caught up with me and guess what, I crashed. I had lots of white space on my calendar and I hit a wall. I slept excessively long a few days so then skipped my workouts, then reached for comfort food, then have just no energy.
What did I do?
- I listened to my body. It wanted rest so I slept.
- I gave myself permission to say “Today, I am going to do just the things I need to do and nothing more.” Then I watched some TV and did not think.
- Took note of the pattern and am using it as a learning experience so I can minimize the risk of repeating this in the future. Which is what I did in my former environment. Take note of the pattern.
- It is a new month, so I can start fresh with this new insight to help me move forward.
Your Type A, get things done, want to save the world personality is awesome! We need you, so you have to take care of you or guess what. Who is going to save us? Use your abilities to advance- your career, your goals, your team, your work, your community, your family… whatever drives you, but do not do it at a cost to your well-being. Give yourself permission to say, I’m human and I need to say no to this ask, take a little down time, or delegate a little more. Let’s find what the right approach is for you.
Be well!