The season of covering other people’s arses at work.
‘I’ve got so much to do before I go on leave, I wonder if holiday is even worth it.’
Said no-one ever. But actually someone did say that to me once. My thoughts - what’s wrong with you?
Why Summer is a shit show
There’s the stuff you need to get done before you toss your Soltan into your suitcase. Getting back up to speed when you’re back whilst digging the last grain of sand out of your toenails. Ah and also covering 20 peoples’ jobs because no-one thought to check who’s going away when. Plus, everything takes longer because no-one’s around to push things through. And if you’ve got caring responsibilities too - yep summer can do one.
As if that wasn’t enough, then there’s YOU.
Yep, you.
The internal chatter of ‘I haven’t been to the gym, spoke to my kids/partner/mates, took the dog for a decent walk’ laced with ‘I need to get through every single thing on my work to do list because I ABSOLUTELY WON’T BE ABLE TO ENJOY MY HOLIDAY unless I do.’
Basically your expectations of self haven’t adjusted to accommodate what’s actually going on right now.
All of this = overwhelm which no 2 week holiday in Tenerife is going to fix.
Covering everyone else’s arses plus doing life and your normal work is a LOT.
No amount of time jiggery pokery is going to provide you with the space to do it all.
So I offer you…..
THE BACK TO BASICS PLAN
This is your emergency go to when everything conspires to push you to the edge into the pit of overwhelm.
To be brought in as a temporary relief so that you can give yourself a break.
This is a contract with yourself that recognises there’s a lot on at the moment, you are only one person, and temporarily it’s okay to do the minimum.
Creating your Back to Basics plan
What’s the one thing I’m going to do this week/day for myself? This could be one home cooked meal, one 15 minute walk a day, one phone call to….. Make it so small it’s impossible not to do. (You do not need to do 3 trips to the gym this week. You know you’ll get back to it when things calm down. But you do need to do something for yourself.)
Identify what absolutely needs to be done work wise. Things to consider: What are people waiting for that’s important (i.e. business critical, not John asking for more detail, AGAIN)? Check in with your team/boss - what do they need from you before you go?
Resist the pull of ‘But I really wanted to get X done before I leave.’ This wish list was probably created months ago when you had more space. Block some time in your calendar to dedicate to this when you’re back or when things calm down.
Diariese when you’re going to get back to normal. Having a date in your mind for when things are going to go back to normal helps to give yourself permission to do the minimum because you are recognising that it’s temporary.
The overwhelm you feel is often due to the expectations you put on yourself.
Back to Basics is your relief from the pressure you’re feeling.