I don’t now what kind of piece this is. It’s not a thought piece and it’s not a coaching tip. I know, it’s a “this is on my mind and I think it might be on yours too” empathy piece. But not everything needs to fit into a structure, right?
When people say “How are you?” I have this (annoying? refreshing?) habit of actually telling them how I am. Not in tonnes of detail (unless they are unfortunate enough to be a close friend), but I answer honestly.
If I’m good I say that. If I’m distracted, I’ll tell them that too. And if I’m feeling strident – like I was on Monday – then I tell them that too. (my friends, that was a good day to remove my hands from the keyboard. I did some drafting but there was nothing fit for public consumption).
And this week I have mostly been feeling that I want to be done for the year. Can I take a break now?
Can I take a break now?
Don’t get me wrong, I love my work. I’ve got loads of funny, smart people that I am working with right now. In my training, facilitation, and my coaching. I love it.
Yet I’m still thinking “Can the work stop now?”. Can everything just stop now?
I’m not the only one. Many of the people I’ve been speaking with are also feeling this way.
“Oh, I can’t wait until x date and then I’m on a break”.
This year has felt long. We’ve all done a lot. We’ve been through a lot. And whether we are American or not, we’re either glued to the coverage of the US election, or we’re taking peeks every now and then to maintain some sanity.
So what do we do?
We can slog it out and endure until the holidays. Been there, done that, didn’t end well.
We can quit, say f*ck it, just stop.
Or we can make some adjustments to make it better.
Here are a couple of ideas that I have for myself that I think could be useful for you too.
Find a new perspective.
I notice that I’m stuck in a “urgh, I’ve got work to do” mindset (for the tone of voice, imagine a grumpy teenager who’s just been asked to take their own cup to the kitchen).
Personally, I want to shift this to a “how many genuine, interesting people do I still get to work with this year?” mindset.
Sometimes I forget what I’m actually doing and why I’m doing it, and then it turns into work. So tomorrow I’m actually going to do a quick tally of how many interesting conversations I still get to have this year.
But first…
Take a 3-hour break
Give yourself full permission and “skive off school”. Bunk off. Skip school. Play hooky. Whatever you want to call it. Embrace that philosophy from the folks at Basecamp “what’s not done by Friday 5 pm can get done on Monday 9 am”. But why wait for Friday? Pick a time where it will feel really good, and maybe a little bit bad, and then go do anything but work.
(As soon as I press done on this piece, I’m making a picnic and going off to the woods. yes, I have more to do but f*ck it. I’ll get back to it tomorrow)
Whatever you do, take care of yourself. I can help you with that (after my picnic in the woods) so if you’re interested, use the link below.
Want to be one of my interesting conversations over the next couple of months? Then Experience Coaching with me.
This is part of my Thought Piece Series where I explore topics related to leadership and provide both answers and questions. My intention is to start meaningful conversations that help us move forward.