Who’s holding the fort?

August and holiday time – what’s it like for you? Maybe you’re in ‘busy’ mode in a couple of ways:

• trying to get everything done before you take a well-earned break – it’s not unusual for people to tell us they put in double the hours before they take a break!

• perhaps some of the your team are off and you’re covering what seems like everything 

• or perhaps you’re perpetually busy

And breathe…

However busyness is for you, it seems like there isn’t a moment to pause for breath!

Add in the COVID complication factor of quarantine and staycation busyness and it’s a recipe for frazzled nerves, fractured relationships and things slipping through the net.

And breathe… literally

It’s tempting to try to push through when your ‘to do’ list is long and nearly everything is marked urgent. There are even times when that might be the best approach.

But there are even more times when taking a breath to recalibrate, perhaps putting aside the ‘to dos’ for a moment is an even better approach. During this pandemic many of us have noticed how much better we are to have, for example, quality time with the people we care about, time in nature or got creative.

Be more productive

Not only feel better, but are actually more productive.

We’re a small team at Fresh Air Fridays HQ and we’re launching a new programme next week. Some things haven’t gone according to plan – resulting in moments of frustration and overwhelm. 

And pausing for breath helped…

Ruth took time to spend with her son for a few hours and was surprised that she completed all her intentions for the day on returning. I’m writing this after completing some preparations for a family visit tomorrow – I’d been putting that behind my work launch list until I noticed the overwhelm creeping up. I stopped, had a chat with the team about what’s outstanding and how we could prioritise together, Everything that needs to be taken care of is in hand and everyone on team is working well – both for the launch and in their personal lives. 

Prioritise mental and emotional fitness

Taking care of yourself and what matters to you is important. If you or the people on your team are struggling to do that, their work will suffer and so will their mental and emotional fitness.

Tune in and give yourself a break when you need it – whether that’s a week off or a breathing space in your day. You ‘work’ when you do.