Last Friday, I turned 40.
It was a whirlwind weekend full of wonderful surprises and the very next day my Whole Life Challenge started. The week before mine was my husband’s 40th birthday so we had a whirlwind for him, too. All this has meant a bunch of days off work and out of routine. And since Saturday, a bunch of really tired days as I move more and eat differently. Most nights this week, I’ve pretty much wanted to do nothing after work. My kids go to bed and pretty soon after, I do, too.
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for my ever-growing-never-getting-done todo list.
Or my ever-growing email.
And I know it’s okay to take breaks. But I also know that all this postponing will eventually catch up with me. I also know I wanted to set some projects for myself for the fall and possibly reorganize things.
And yet, all I want to do now is lie down.
So I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
This week has been all about the Whole Life Challenge. Eating healthier. Moving differently and being sore and getting better. All this will make me more energetic in the long term but it leaves me pretty tired for now. So, since my health is indeed one of my top issues for 2014, I give myself permission to take the rest of this week off.
But.
This weekend, I will get organized. Take stock. See where I am and what’s really falling behind. And next week I will slowly start catching up.
By the week after, I expect to be back to my regularly scheduled life and tempo.
Let’s see if any of that is realistic. But sometimes you just need to start doing things to get back into the groove so I am trying to balance giving myself permission to pause with making sure I do have a plan for being productive again because I know that productive is where I feel happiest.
I think for people like me, who thrive on routine, it’s really tough to have things that knock you off your schedule. Even when it’s good things, like birthdays. And the trick is giving myself grace but still gently coaxing myself back on schedule.
That balance is always the tough part.
I know this post seems pointless and maybe it’s just me trying to work out how I can get back on track. And also wondering how do others do it….
One of your posts pointless? Doubt it.
Welcome to the 40 club! Hope you had a wonderful day with your beautiful family and enjoy every minute.
After working from home part time for the last 10 years, I recently went back to work in the office full time. It’s been a big adjustment because everything about my routine has changed. Instead of getting up at 7, getting the kids to school by 8:30 and working from 9-3, now I’m up at five and we’re all out of the house by 7. I was hoping that I would become more productive because I have less time, requiring focus and less waste, like how I remember from when I worked outside the house FT in the past, but I haven’t gotten into that groove yet. I’m a puddle after dinner incapable of a complete thought. I love your approach to give it pause and reassess. This weekend I’m going to do just that (after laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, food shopping and guinea pig cage cleaning) I need to determine what’s most important and focus on making sure those things don’t fall through the cracks.
Thanks for sharing. It’s comforting to know that we’re not alone and that other people can relate to what we’re going through.
Happy birthday!
For what it’s worth, I’ve never felt on track. So every task I complete feels like a victory! I think when it matters most, you do find a way. For me, I’ve never neen able to stick to a routine or schedule. But this fall it’s been really important to me to be the one to take my son to school. Somehow I’ve managed to do that, make time to eat breakfast with him (I have literally eaten breakfast in the car or at work for 15 years) and still manage to get to work earlier than I had been! Perhaps this is your subconscious telling you it’s time to slow down and renew your focus? Either way, happy belated birthday!