Have you ever experienced 7 day work weeks? Ever used weekends to get a jump start on preparing for the upcoming excitements of the work week ahead? Ever felt like a slacker upon receiving an email, phone call or work text on a weekend? At 6am? At 9pm? “Eeeek! Someone is working and the implied imperative to respond is too great to ignore? A colleague is busy and requires an answer right now!”
Yeah, us too.
Blurred boundaries have become so ubiquitous that sometimes we forget to have them around work. The availability of so many methods of communication (our electronic leashes!) have made it so easy for someone’s necessity to get some shiny work object that just flew across their minds out of their heads and give it to us any time of the day, night, weekend or even on vacation time can be perilous to those of us on the receiving end. The unspoken calls to action are so implicit in our day-to-day lives that we forget to maintain perimeters around “me time.” Just because a colleague needs something doesn’t mean you need to jump. Just because someone else appears to be working doesn’t mean you need to be. Comparing ourselves to someone else's work habits serves us not at all, but it requires intentionality, consciousness and an awareness of the necessity for downtime.
It’s hard to get out of our heads, this is no joke and very very real. In this work environment, it is so easy to become tethered to the schedules of our counterparts - and being busy can feel like a badge of honor. “So many of us define ourselves by what we do. So we overdo, overwork and overproduce,” says psychologist Scott Bea, PsyD. “In our culture, ‘downtime’ can sound like a dirty word.” (Why Downtime is Essential for Brain Health” Cleveland Clinic; Health Essentials).
Look, we promise, everything on our “to-do” lists WILL get done. We all have a running account of what we need to do for work playing in our brains on a loop, and those of us who are committed to our professionalism, responsibilities and who are dedicated to our work are not going to forget our “to-do” lists. But rest is important.
Our brains are miraculous! They need balance, boundaries and time to recover from all we ask of them intellectually, emotionally and professionally. It’s a physiological necessity for performance but mostly for peace and ease of mind. That means consciously deciding when we’ll be working and when we won’t (our own time!). Creating dedicated space for ourselves (and importantly, being present in that space!), saying no temporarily, respecting our need for downtime, intentionally unplugging, refusing to take the bait of others who are sending requests on our time off are important people! Whether in the mornings, evenings or weekends, we not only need this, we require it.
“Research has found that taking breaks can improve your mood, boost your performance and increase your ability to concentrate and pay attention. When you don't give your mind a chance to pause and refresh, it doesn't work as efficiently…...you might also be more likely to experience burnout and the health problems that go hand-in-hand with chronic stress.…….And watching TV, scrolling through social media or playing games on your phone also don’t count as downtime. (What???) These activities all require processing information — and part of the reason we need more downtime is that we’re doing way too much processing already,” Dr. Bea explains.” (Cleveland Clinic; Health essentials)
In no way are we trying to give you yet another “to-do.” But we are asking you to think about prioritizing you. We are asking you to consider, consciously and with intention, to think about your prerogatives for creating “me time.” We are asking you to not check your email, phones or texts during designated self time. Whatever it is, it can wait. Allowing for dedicated sleep, letting your mind wander, being present in nature or with friends, granting yourself a change of scenery, exercising, meditation and just “not thinking,”, while counterintuitive, may be the greatest gift you can give yourself professionally.
This Memorial Day weekend - this blog was the only work-related thing I did - partly because I enjoy the challenge of the exercise and partly because yes, I have a full week in front of me and I like to give myself the dedicated focused time to ponder and write about the topic of the week. This past holiday Monday, I gave 2.5 hours to FIG and now, will be shutting down this computer and will prepare for a lovely restorative visit with friends, will not be checking email or texts (unless they’re personal), and definitely not thinking about work. Whatever needs to be done will get done, and whatever it is can (and will) wait for the rest of the day. I promise.
Until next time……..