PhotoCredit: GetComfy
Guess who finally succumbed to COVID. I managed to outrun it for 2.5 years, but then it caught me. Not badly, all things considered. My symptoms were not terrible: sense of taste and smell maintained throughout; brain-fog seems to have eluded me; and I was in pretty good spirits across the board. Which made it even harder to do what I knew I needed to do. REST.
I spent the first seven days somewhat laid flat with sheer exhaustion. My main symptom. Was it COVID or was it the aforementioned 2.5 years of trying to outrun it? 2.5 years of supporting companies and people trying to outrun potentially game-over consequences of it? 2.5 years of caution, precautions and anxiety dominating every nook and cranny of the collective psyche?
I am not on week three and I am still TAF (Tired As FCUK).
Put your hand up if you are running on empty.
Our brains consume a substantial part of our energy on a daily basis. Conservative estimates are that our brains use 20-30% of our energy. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe our brains have been in overdrive for the past-long-wee-while and have likely been consuming A Whole Lot More Than That. My guesstimate it's been more like 40-60% consumption when you factor in the confluence of issues coming at us in the media, general anxiety, and the level of change we have all had to absorb. That's all before looking at the impact of your day job.
We all need to pause. We need to give ourselves permission to stop. We need to give others permission to stop.
Accordingly, this is my prescription, regardless of your health status:
1. Two days (S/S) of absolutely NOTHING. Set yourself up for two days of literal bed rest. Order or make some good food and just lay flat and sleep+read+StreamYourHeartOut.
2. One workweek (M-F) of minimal work. I did two half-day board calls and otherwise cancelled all my meetings and spent time cleaning up my inbox. Overall, I worked at about 20% which should be your goal. I did all this from bed as I was sick...I will also allow doing this work on your couch or from a desert island. Please don't set-up-shop in your home office as that will defeat the purpose.
3. Two days (S/S) of supportive activities. Book yourself in for a retreat or retreat at home. Daily yoga/walks/light exercise, making nourishing food (make extra and freeze it), maybe tidy out a cupboard or three (as that is joyful), meditate, light gardening, some inspiring movies/music/podcasts and reading.
4. This is the hard part. For the following two weeks you need to organize your life to be lighter than usual. I want you working at about 80%. No multi-tasking. No getting caught up in drama. No coffee meetings or dinners out. No late nights. Figure out what you absolutely must get done then, quietly and calmly, get that work done. Add in a little meditation and light exercise. Keep eating well. This is a critical time to lock in the benefits of the prior week and start to rebuild your stamina.
I know this sounds hard. I am not going to list out the amount of drama and workload in my life the last two weeks, but rest assured it's actually one of the busiest periods of my year. There are a lot of additional responsibilities on me at the moment. I have still worked really hard to operate (well) at 80%.
If we don't pay attention when the warning light comes on, we do permanent damage. It's time for us all to take ourselves into the shop and get some maintenance done.
Doctor's Orders!