What Day is this Anyway?
Have you ever been on such a whirlwind trip of activity that you lose track of the days? That’s been my life recently.
I’ve been working overtime on my job and it’s really messed with my mind and body.
So what can we do when our lives are in overdrive?
First, we can set an expectation for when we can pull off the highway of life and slow down. For me, that means starting this weekend. For the past three weeks I’ve snatched 16, 16, and 8 hours of overtime. The extra money is great but as you know, money isn’t everything. So now I’ll pass up any offered OT so that I can recharge my batteries and figure out what day of the week it is.
Second, we can focus on the most important things (relationships, activities, attitudes) and relax our standards on the rest. We can’t do it all. We shouldn’t try to do it all. Acknowledge that you’re made some temporary priority changes and give yourself permission to slack off in the minor things.
Third, plan time to decompress after a high speed experience. This weekend I’ll be spending time with family, friends and going to see an “off Broadway” show (yes, off Broadway in South Portland, Maine!).
Next week life should start to get back to normal. But it will take a few weeks for my head to stop spinning and to get back into my normal routine. Notice I didn’t say to “catch up” on things.
Catching up suggests you’ve fallen behind. I didn’t fall behind, instead I made choices that left certain tasks undone.
And as amazing as it might seem, no one probably noticed or cared that I didn’t do some common household chores. Because in my family, Gerry and the kids know that if they comment on something that needs to be done–well, I put the burden back on them and tell them to do it! 
So I think today is Wednesday. If I’m wrong, don’t tell me. I won’t remember anyway.
