Runners talk about “hitting the wall” when doing long runs or marathons. Something suddenly changes, leaving them drained and struggling to keep going. (Those of you who know me will know that this is hearsay rather than experience speaking!)
10 weeks in, I hit the Covid-wall. As I shared a few weeks ago, I’m a home-worker. I try to follow the advice I dole out – be disciplined, set boundaries, stay connected – it’s worked for me for many many years. So what’s different now?
Maybe it’s a build-up of the “same but different” challenges that we face on a personal level… Caring for elderly parents, health concerns (self and/or others), juggling working from home with home-schooling, living with – or forced apart from – keyworkers, months of not being able to see family and friends.
Maybe it’s a natural reaction to 3 months of adapting, refocusing, and reinventing plans at full speed… Are we giving members the support they need or want? Are we overloading them? Do they want MORE corona/furlough webinars? Do we need to be more innovative and think about different strategies and techniques to adapt to THEIR new normal? How best can we facilitate the crucial discussions that we all need to have as we plan for a return to the workplace?
Or is it the ongoing fear, uncertainty and anxiety caused by this new phenomenon which finds us grappling with seemingly endless information that comes our way, sometimes literally overnight, stopping us from working through the well-known phases of a change cycle.
Whatever the reason, I think the answer lies in self-care, and the three tips I set out earlier stand true:
For “be disciplined”, read “starve the stress” – eat healthily, drink plenty, exercise daily and b-r-e-a-t-h-e deeply!
For “set boundaries”, read “get off the treadmill” – take a break, limit zoom calls (or any calls, for that matter!)
For “stay connected”, read… well… “stay connected” – with friends, family, colleagues – we’re going through a shared experience, that means sharing the good and the less good, and taking time to look out for each other.
Thankfully it was temporary blip and I’m back on track! Which is just as well, as I have a busy month coming up ahead.