Tips to get you through a busy old week
Tips to get you through a busy old week
7th-11th October is National Work Life Week. At Boo we are invested in ensuring the tension between our personal and professional commitments is as minimised as possible. Unlimited PTO, the maximum flexibility of hours and location that our business will allow – all that good stuff – we’re on it. However, there will still be times throughout the year when work competes with our relaxation time and wins. How do we protect our wellbeing on those occasions? Our Happiness Ambassador has some suggestions.
We’ve decided it’s quite ironic that Work Life Week occurs on one of the busiest seven days of the year. It is for me, anyway, in both my professional and social life. Across my two jobs I’ve been double or triple booked most days. As it stands, I’m scheduled to attend at least one significant event every day, all of which mean an early start. I’ve got two small children to get up and ready beforehand (they go into hibernation at this time of year and waking them prematurely is deeply traumatic for the whole household), I’ve got friends keen to meet for pumpkinspicedwhatever, we’re renovating our house (my kitchen is currently piled up in my hallway), I’ve got a medical appointment, a hair cut booked in, it’s my eldest son’s birthday weekend oh and I’ve got suspected shingles. In a way I suppose my work and my life are quite well balanced in the way that they are equally hectic.
Perhaps this is actually an excellent time to have work life awareness week, because it encourages me to reflect on how I’m spending my energy and proactively plan for how I will conserve and then recharge it.
Working and living like this is not sustainable beyond the short term – we’d get burnt out very rapidly. However, for most of us, weeks like this one are unavoidable. They are part of life’s ebbs and flows, and we find the balance another time.
Since I started working at Boo my self-awareness and my resilience have increased. I know that what I’m doing is acknowledged and appreciated, and I know that support is there. I’ve also picked up a few practical tips for dealing with overwhelm. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing to counteract my busy-ness this week.
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As soon as I recognise that I’m being propelled by cortisol and adrenaline, I sift through my commitments and decide the limits of what I’m prepared to do. I do this before the stress hormones sweep me into perpetual motion and make me attempt to do ALL THE THINGS.
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I’ve scheduled in down time, literally into my diary, by the hour.
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I’ve said no gently. Starting with “That sounds absolutely awesome…” and ending with “thank you for inviting me, I’d love to do it another time!”
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I’ve been using commutes of several hours in heavy traffic as chance to do breathing exercises to regular my parasympathetic system.
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I’ve looked for little pockets of time for micro renewals. I’ve been carrying a book with me and when I get ten minutes to myself I’ll read two chapters.
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I’ve prioritised sleep
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I’ve been having more frequent warm showers
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I’ve eaten whatever food my body is craving, prepared in a way that involves little effort
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I’ve tried to spend 30 mins a day outside (and not done terribly well at this)
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I’ve aimed for one interrupted cup of tea a day
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I’ve consciously ‘let go’ of all but the bare minimum of housework
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I’ve surrounded myself with nice scents and reapplied perfume often (this soothes my nervous system)
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I’ve been taking notice – of a beautiful tree (admittedly one tree poked me in the eye so I was either taking too much notice or too little), of the sound the kettle made when I boiled it, of the rain on the window…
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I’ve been writing down one ‘glimmer’ a day (a glimmer is the opposite of a trigger). For example, I noticed how beautiful the Manchester skyline looked in the dawn light, as I crawled towards it in bumper to bumper traffic
Save this for your next hectic week!
Amy X
Read more: 7 ways to make every day a self care day
Grow with the Flow – Reflections as We Head into Autumn
Sign up for Flourishing in a Busy World
