Something's Gotta Give
This is what I'm hearing lately:
Tech executives moving from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting, with an onslaught of emails and Slack messages piling up for when the workday ends.
Small business owners coming out of the lull of COVID into their busiest season ever.
Creatives in industries whose work never let up in 2021, having gone a year without any meaningful time off.
Somehow, despite little to no travel, no commute, and our every need delivered to our doorstep, we're all busier than ever. Nearly everyone I talk to is exhausted.
And I felt it too. Suddenly, people who have been contemplating coaching for some time were ready to commit. I'm not complaining. I love my work. But how can I coach others about doing their best work and having some semblance of work/life balance if I'm not walking my talk?
My pace was too intense and certainly not sustainable. I thought to myself; something's gotta give.
For me, that looked like taking a month off from sending out my Winnspiration newsletter and two weeks off from posting on Instagram. I also put some new things I'm creating on the back burner. And I took a week off with no meetings or client sessions (this was booked months in advance). Not a vacation or even a staycation, but a slower pace that included simple things like sleeping in, having a nice long phone call with a dear friend from college, and meeting a client who was road-tripping through California for a socially distanced glass of wine.
And aside from my sister and one of my very best friends who both texted me, "Is everything OK? I'm not seeing you on Instagram", nobody else noticed or cared!
And I'm reminded yet again that we'll die with a to-do list, a closet that needs cleaning out, and a follow-up email unsent. I can live with that, but I can't live with the regret for the missed phone call with a dear old friend or the conversation on a sunny spring afternoon over a glass of wine. These things are what make our lives worth living.
So I ask you, are you thinking something's gotta give?
If so, I encourage you to take a step right now. What's something that you could hit pause on? Trust me, aside from your sister and maybe your best friend, nobody will notice.