The picture attached to this blog was taken of me about a month ago, while sitting in my office one afternoon. What does my expression suggest to you?
In my mental space were fatigue, overwhelm, and frustration. Do any of those experiences sound familiar to you?
I am a serial entepreneur, which means I am almost always pushing to learn new things and how to make those things better. And I love what I do! So why did I look like that?
Imagine being seated at a high-end restaurant with white table cloths, candles, and those napkins folded into origami shapes. You order steak, medium rare, and sip your cabernet in anticipation. The lovely, crisply dressed server walks to your table and gently sets your plated steak on the table in front of you. Instead of calmly cutting small pieces and savoring the taste and texture, you cram large chunks into your mouth chewing and swallowing like acid rain is about to spew from the sprinkler system.
This is what high performers do when they don’t know how to manage expectations to create sustainable performance.
I’ve always said God has a funny way of making sure I’m fully prepared and unequivocally understand a topic before I train others. Well, all you have to do is glance at that picture to know I “get” it. (Why couldn’t I have been trained in how to manage the boredom of yacht lounging?)
Fortunately, that look on my face was short-lived because I was preparing for a week vacation at the beach with my family. No matter how many plates I was spinning, I needed some time away to reset, refresh, and breathe. So do you.
You cannot sustain high performance without capacity and energy management.
What are your “tells” indicating you need a break? Do you look as if you’re the last survivor of war-torn chaos? Do you crawl under covers and pull them to your chin? Are you barking irrationally at family members? Do you pull your car into the back of a large parking lot while staring at a hedgerow, wondering if you’ll go home or just stay there until someone finds your skeletal remains?
What helps you to reset, breathe, and recharge? (You may be thinking, “Well, Dana, if I knew the answer to that question, I wouldn’t have a problem, would I?) Good point – so here are some ideas:
- Use the Pomodoro time management method and set a timer on your phone to step away
- Walk down the hall or outside, if possible. Breathe….
- Have a funny or entertaining book/podcast at the ready that you can read/listen to during your break
- Don’t doom scroll – I dk who that helps…(actually tends to increase anxiety)
- See the bigger picture: if you died tomorrow, everything would find a way to keep going. You aren’t the center of the universe and isn’t that amazing!
Here is one of my podcast episodes that may help you!
