Reflecting on 2020 and the Way Up
How I’ll be applying the learnings from the most difficult year of my life
2020 is the year that will probably be remembered in our lifetimes as one of immense disturbance, delay, and deficit…not to mention one that exposed the fragile nature of mental health in our society. Even with 7 years of academic study in the areas of health and wellbeing and working day to day in the field, I not only experienced declining mental health this year, I fell head first into burnout and am thankful to have found a way to recover.
Given how challenging this year has been for many, with its long stretches of uncertainty, social distancing, and missed opportunities, it’s no surprise that many of us have felt this way. If you’d like to read more about my experience with burnout this year, check out the links below:
As we approach the end of 2020, I’ve been thinking about how to not only avoid experiencing burnout, but how I can make small changes to my day to day to improve the quality of my life. There’s no reason why work/life needs to return to exactly how it was pre-COVID-19, and in fact, that might cause more harm than good if you were already on a trajectory to exhaustion like me. Keep reading for the simple hacks that I’ll be implementing from now on and in the new year.
Focusing on efficiency
Got chores? Can you invest in a tool or service that will speed up the process? This might be getting your groceries delivered, organising a ‘click and collect’ service to minimise time wandering up and down aisles, or investing in a robo-vacuum.
I’ll be scheduling time in my diary to write up a weekly meal plan and will use my supermarkets’ iPhone app to note down the aisle numbers so I can work my way through methodically without having to go back and forth looking for things. This minimises my time in the supermarket and maximises the time I can spend with my loved ones doing things I actually enjoy.
Committing to a morning routine
I’ve written about this in more detail here, but essentially, I’ll be making a conscious effort to go to sleep earlier, so I can wake up earlier and make time to read for an hour each morning before I get ready for my work day. This makes me feel like I’ve started the day by doing something for myself, rather than rushing around thinking about the 1000+ client projects and deadlines I have in my head.
Sticking to a calm, rewarding morning routine sets the tone for the rest of my day and works to substantially reduce any anxiety and stress I might feel later on.
Saying no and postponing where required
This applies to both work and play. I’ve well and truly killed my bad habit of saying yes to too many tasks at work and working into the wee hours of the night to get things done. Sure there may be the odd day where I have to put in a few hours on an evening or weekend but these are few and far between, and certainly not consistent. This is what allows me to not only juggle side hustles, family, friends and the time commitments that go along with them.
When it comes to applying this strategy for social commitments, I’ve figured out that I need to be more intentional about spreading out my catch-ups with friends and family. This is not strictly related to 2020, however, pre-COVID-19, I would book myself out for dinners on weeknights and brunches, lunches, dinners, and drinks on weekends; often to my own detriment. I’d wake up exhausted every day and struggle to enjoy the catch-ups, but I felt like I had to give people the next available day in my diary regardless of my fatigue levels. I’ll be changing this in 2021 for my own health and wellbeing (and wallet, it turns out this habit was mighty expensive over time!)
From 2021, I’ll be limiting myself to two dinner/drinks sessions during the week and one social catch up on the weekend. I’ll be keeping this in mind when I schedule these events in with my friends and family and I’ll be protecting the free space in my diary to rest and recover. This might mean that I accept fewer impromptu catch-ups, but it will mean that when I’m out, I’ll be energised, well-rested and more able to engage.
Building strong habits rather than setting goals
Have you ever set yourself a goal to get promoted by ‘x’ date, or lose ‘x’ kilos by ‘x’ date? Have you ever missed this goal and felt horrendous despite the effort you put in (and likely the many external factors that influenced this outcome)?
Focusing on outcomes might be motivating at first, but, I certainly find myself in a better headspace when I focus on my inputs. For example, rather than focusing on the number of reads or claps on my Medium articles, I’ll be setting myself a goal of writing at least one article per fortnight. Just writing and hitting publish is both productive and creative enough for me to be satisfied, and I’ll be looking at the outcomes from doing this consistently as a cherry on top. This concept of focusing on the inputs might sound familiar, if it does, it’s because it focuses on building strong habit systems rather than on outcomes. You can read more about this in this blog post.
What are some of the changes you’ll be making in 2021?
Eresha is a health and wellbeing consultant who is passionate about professional development and improvement. She recognises the inter-relatedness of self-improvement and wellbeing and is constantly looking for new ways to save time, learn, develop, and improve her overall health, wellbeing, and quality of life.
Eresha also offers 1-on-1 virtual professional development coaching for early career professionals, enquire by emailing Eresha.Abenayake@chiefexecutivegirls.com.au
The views expressed in this article are my own and do not reflect any organisation for which I work or volunteer.
You can find more professional development inspiration from Eresha on Instagram (@chief_executive_girls).
