Over the last year, I’ve seen a big increase in what I’ve previously called pre-holiday panic.
Pre-pandemic, this is a something I used to see (and do myself) when people were due to go on holiday or change jobs. They worked tirelessly to cram everything in before they hit their target date. There didn’t seem to be any let-up, but that felt OK as it was only for a short time.
In situations like these, we’re often running on a mix of adrenaline, cortisol, sugar and caffeine. There’s no time for error, space to think or reflect as we’re just in ‘do’ mode. We go from meeting to meeting, call to call and we’re always on.
Image: Amanda Marie, Unsplash
From what I’ve seen and heard over the last year, this mode of pre-holiday panic is still the norm for some people (and for a few, even after they’ve had a break). There can be feelings of frustration or anger, a feeling of being on a hamster wheel with no escape and absolute bone-tiredness, even if you feel you’ve had a good night’s sleep. You struggle to concentrate, and it takes much more energy to just do the basics of your job.
Then, you can find that your body starts to protest that it’s had enough of working in that emergency mode – we get a cold or a cough, often either just before we stop for holidays or when we’re on a break. Not at all ideal and especially when we’re in a pandemic and people might mistakenly think you could have something more deadly than a sniffle.
The Covid hokey cokey
Since we were ordered to stay at home in March 2020, we’ve all experienced a roller coaster of change. It’s been like the hokey cokey of staying home, being able to go out and then being locked down again.
The energy that we’ve used in dealing with that, as well as the uncertainty and general fear of Covid-19 has been drawn from our existing energy bank. It’s not coming from a plug-in power pack we’ve been given from somewhere else.
Although it might feel like things are going back to ‘normal’, we’re still dealing with more extraordinary circumstances: organisations trying to navigate a return to offices; going back to a work commute; people still catching Covid-19 and having to stay at home (and some being very poorly with it) and the continuing reminders that we’re in this for a longer haul than we hoped.
This level of uncertainty, fear and a general feeling of a lack of control over what’s going to happen next can be knackering and drain energy even more.
It’s not you
We’re still dealing with a set of very extraordinary responses. We can’t keep operating at emergency levels trying to ‘keep calm and carry on’ for weeks on end.
If you’ve got a break in sight or you’re feeling that your energy bank’s a little low, here are a few things to try:
Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time you have. Look at what’s on your plate, set your priorities and stick to them. Focus on the urgent and important and delegate what you can. I know it’s hard when people are breathing down your neck on deadlines but try as hard as you can to stick to your boundaries – see below
Set boundaries and stick to them. However hard it might feel to say no, it’s essential if you’re to guard and manage your energy
Focus on what’s in front of you and try to concentrate on what’s in the moment. Equally, try to have something to look forward to, whether that’s in the next hour or at the end of the day or week
You can’t control other people, what they say, do or think
Talk to people you trust about how you’re feeling – don’t judge yourself too harshly or compare yourself to what someone else thinks. Talk to yourself like you’d speak to your best friend
Take regular breaks in your day. As tempting as it might be to sit at your desk for hours on end to get things done, or stay in back-to-back meetings, give yourself a break
Finally, remember that no-one is indispensable at work. But you are irreplaceable to your friends and family.
If it would be helpful to chat through a plan to help you maintain or ramp up your energy, give me a shout.