“Thank F#ck it’s Friday”
I remember saying under my breath when I woke from an interrupted night’s sleep on November 23rd, 2022 up in the northeast of Victoria some two and a bit hours from home.
And then it hit me like what I’d describe as a forceful punch in the guts that stopped me in my tracks. Knocked the wind out of my sails, you could say.
November 23rd was in fact a Wednesday, and I remembered that before I got to the 25th of November (said Friday), I still had the following to do:
Six (6) 1:1 coaching sessions.
A late afternoon drive home to Melbourne.
A return flight to Sydney and facilitation for a new client (that turned into a return flight via Canberra that took six hours longer than usual).
This was the first time in nearly four years that I was dreading work (even though I like to say my work really isn’t work). I was not sleeping well, I was running too hard across work and family stuff, my usual rituals involving exercise and eating were up the shit, and I’d become captive of my ‘to-do’ list with no reference to my ‘to-be’ list, and was pretty much running on empty. Oh, and there was a fair bit of ‘poor me’ dialogue running through my head.
Can anyone relate?
The following month was an absolute shit-fight, with illness and death, a funeral to attend and speak at, lots of work crammed into the end of the year, a major operation for a family member that required total rest for six weeks, and I really feel like I stumbled, limped and fell flat on my face at the end of 2022.
What could possibly go wrong?
Given I’d not listened to the advice I give others in pretty much everything, I felt like I was just surviving each day with my nose above the water line. Sometimes I’d be under the water and hope that I’d come to the surface again with just enough time to inhale some air before I went under again.
Looking back on 2022 from the balcony I realised that I was trying to make up for lots of lost time in lockdown where certain freedoms were taken from me (and many of us) by running at 1,000,000 miles an hour. I’ve heard similar versions of my November 23rd experience from other humans I’ve been chatting to. Exhaustion, despair, burnout, and guilt.
What’s the lesson here?
Slow the f#ck down Mark and don’t try and be superhuman (yes another thing I tell others not to be) for extended periods. Oh and I practiced the 6R’s going into 2023 as a way of avoiding another “Thank F#ck it’s Friday” moment in 2023.
Reflect – Recover- Reset – Recharge – Ritual – Reward
Here’s my 6R’s activity that I completed at the end of 2022 to set me up to stay upright in 2023 and an editable link for you to complete your own.
You’re Welcome
Print it out, fill it in, and stick it on the fridge or the bathroom mirror to remind yourself of what your 6Rs are.
