How many of you find yourself humming along one day and all of a sudden, you’re exhausted and weary? The first week of April hummed along with planning from the previous week coming to fruition. Then, a rash of twists and turns began – starting on Wednesday April 9, 2014.
What an incredible day. Although I didn’t realize just how incredible it was until later that night because I took each instance of goodness, and savored them one at a time, not focusing on anything else.
But over the course of the day I ran out of steam. I got weary from the amount of emotion that embodied each exciting and disappointing thing I went through. As the days went on, excitement about those few things waned. Other nice things happened and not so nice things happened.
What did I do to manage the multitude of emotions that ran like a roller coaster throughout my week? Let me tell you. But first a little background…
Working Resting Working Resting
There were four pivotal moments this week that created the roller coaster ride that wore me out before I realized I needed a break.
First was the publication of my book on Amazon Kindle. I finally uploaded my book, Absolutely! Creating a Routine to Help You Keep Your Sanity in a Crazy World to Amazon Kindle. I had a large part of what is written in the book completed, but the Type A issue of perfectionism kept me from allowing the book to be published sooner. By the time I gave up on the perfectionism and uploaded it to Amazon Kindle, I thought it would take up to a week to publish. Lo and behold… 1 day! It took only 1 day! I wasn’t expecting that, so I had to scramble to get the word out.
I contacted my friends to ask for help, posted all over the place (where allowed of course), and joined several online book groups. I read their terms of service (TOS), then started posting and asking questions. It was amazing and exhausting! I got a few sales right away, tons of congratulations, and so much moral support I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Second one of my favorite blog posts was scheduled to post on this day. It’s a fun blog post that made me happy. Interestingly enough, for a moment, I became upset because I had specific posts planned and thought I had to reschedule them. Guess what? I didn’t! I let the chips fall where they may. (You see, normally, I schedule posts on the website and social media so you’re not getting hammered with several blog posts or tips in a short amount of time.) Though it was quite a bit of over stimulation having both of these things on the same day, I let it ride.
Third was a job offer. On the same day, someone offered me a job. It was something I was almost sure I wanted. I’ve been looking into this type of work for about 6 months. By this time the excitement was almost too much to handle.
Fourth, we made an offer on a house. By Friday we placed an offer on a house and by Monday the house was already sold to someone else. sigh
10 Tips for the Weary
How I managed the emotional roller coaster
1. Stop what you’re doing, step back, and assess your situation – Timing got out of whack today and I felt like I was racing to do a lot of things in a short amount of time. And each “thing” had emotion attached to it. So I stopped what I was doing, stepped back, and assessed my situation.
2. Listen to your body – To manage, when I felt my body go on overload, I took a break. I actually listened to my body and rested. (If you know me, I often push my body until I drop and then start back at the beginning of this list.)
3. Allow others to help – Next, I called my mom to talk it out. Talking about what’s on my mind does a couple of things for me: It allows me to hear the issues out loud and work through the information one event at a time. It gives me a visual map in my head.
Tidbit: Some people like to write everything down, others need to only write some of it down, while others might only need to think about it to get it done.
4. Prioritize – Using the visual map in my head I made a list. I then created new folders on my hard drive and in my email program, for each event that needed documentation. I then put everything into order by priority.
Each week I set aside time for work, study, free time, and meals. Much of my time is spent working on my business, most of which is writing & social media. Of course if something good pops into my head during the day, I try to get it on paper right then and there. But something else has to give when this happens.
There’s also housework, meal preparation, and taking care of hubby and me time. I had to stop, go over what was most pressing, tackle those things, and then hope for time left over to catch up on other tasks. My husband and I made a grocery store run and purchased food that was easy to prepare but still healthy (for the most part). I planned a few ice cream breaks, movie time, and Starbucks runs for mind rest and to rejuvenate.
5. Let it go – Study time takes extreme concentration. (Not that my writing and work don’t, but this takes more.) With all the commotion this week, quite a bit of the studying had to take a back seat… I had to let it go.
I set aside two hours for cleaning the house, but decided I could leave the laundry unfolded on the bed in the guest room/office. Instead of doing a two-hour floor cleaning to perfection, I ran a Swiffer Sweeper over them. I’ve only used it a few times before, but realized that it really works! (I have the Swiffer Sweeper X-large version on my wish list since the entire house has flooring.)
Do any of these tips get you thinking?
6. Focus – Sometimes I compartmentalize my tasks. For you computer geeks – it’s similar to partitioning your hard drive. “Partitioning your hard drive essentially tells your computer to treat portions of that drive as separate entities.” (Excerpt from PC World.) This allows me laser focus on each task.
7. Take micro breaks – Finally, I powered out online for a couple of hours here and there while taking much-needed breaks. I read, changed sitting positions, and ate ice cream (not every day).
Additional info
8. Stay hydrated – I keep a large water bottle on my desk so I can sip it throughout the day.
9. Plan realistic time for each task – Normally I already know how much time most of my tasks will take. But in this case, I had no control over some of the timing and had to power through, reading, learning, posting, and writing…
10. Set up a reward system – On the day that all heck broke loose, I decided that the next morning, I’d get up early, get ready for a big day, and take myself to Starbucks for a much needed Venti Mocha before I got going!
Some of you might not work or be involved with writing or social media. However, this applies to any area of life.
10 Tips for the Weary
1. Stop what you’re doing, step back, and assess your situation – If need be, take a short walk, clear your head, then come back to the tasks at hand.
2. Listen to your body – Your body will tell you when you need a break and when you can keep going.
3. Allow others to help – Whether it is answering phones, monitoring email, making sure you stay hydrated, or listening to you talk out loud, allow others to help when needed.
4. Prioritize – I use Steno Notes Pads (12 pack) to make lists because they are easier for me to handle. You can flip the pages over, keeping them intact in the Pad (single pad). I also use a little clip to mark my place.
5. Let it go – If there are a few things that can be done quickly, but aren’t a priority, set-aside time to knock them out, otherwise, let them go.
6. FOCUS – Focus on each task individually. Some need to compartmentalize tasks to have better focus.
7. Take micro breaks – Taking micro breaks gets your blood flowing and helps re-stimulate the brain giving a fresh perspective on a tedious task.
8. Stay hydrated – A common reason our body gets weary is lack of hydration. Keep water within reach at all times, sipping it throughout the day.
9. Plan realistic time for each task – If you think something will take 30 minutes, chances are it will take longer. Interruptions often take people from what they are doing. Plan for it just in case.
10. Set up a reward system – Give yourself a reward for accomplishing (#) tasks. This kicks up endorphins in the brain and helps you continue through your list.
Are there things YOU do to help yourself that aren’t on this list? Let us know by commenting below. If we use your tip in a future blog post, you may end up reaping a reward!
Blessings and Peace,
Susie
©2014 Susie Glennan
All Rights Reserved.
P.S. I sometimes use affiliate links to products I use or would like to purchase, (like the extra large Swiffer link above). The tiny bit of money I receive when you click on a link AND purchase, help me to maintain the website. I have turned down several affiliate requests and links because I haven’t used or am not sure about the product. 🙂
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