It’s come to that time of the year where we all feel like we’re just barely hanging on by a thread. We’re finding it harder to get out of bed in the mornings. Getting through the day is a slog. We’re finding it harder to concentrate and complete tasks. And we can’t wait for the kids’ bedtime so that we can collapse into a dreamy oblivion.
Only, it’s not a dreamy oblivion, is it? You still worry about meeting all your year-end deadlines, about all the things you didn’t manage to complete that day and your ever-growing to-do list – the very last thing you need as you’re trying to wind down.
And if you’re running your own business in order to support yourself and your family, then the pressure is certainly on.
How does it always seem that you’re so busy throughout the year, but CRAZY-BUSY in the last two weeks before everything shuts down? I don’t get it – and yet it happens every single year, without fail. You know what I mean, right?
Everything becomes blurry. And a huge effort.
Personally, I pride myself on being a fairly organised person. Some people say that I lean more towards OCD-tendencies. Po-tay-to, Po-ta-to. Either way, I like planning things in advance. I mean, how else does one get anything done?
So, it came as quite a shock when I was contacted by one of my colleagues at Owlish Press, telling me that a social media post had gone live without any captions! How utterly embarrassing. At this point the post has already been up for about an hour. I removed it as soon as I could and wondered at how I could let something like that slip?
Usually I would berate myself for making such a silly, avoidable error.
But I didn’t.
This time I decided to be kind to myself.
Nevermind this year – it’s been a long two years! And just when we thought we could relax and finally have a normal Christmas holiday, like in the olden days (circa 2019), we’re hit with Omicron and travel bans and very likely the start of a fourth wave here in South Africa.
So, while I sincerely apologise to anyone who saw our non-post on 30 November, I am also keen to show that we’re just real, ordinary people. We have tons going on like everyone else. We have families to attend to, kids to sort out, meals to cook, houses to clean, errands to run, deadlines to meet, businesses to run, bills to pay, presents to buy, trips to plan for that may or may not still be going ahead due to our rising numbers of infections and so much more.
So, my appeal to you today is: BE KIND TO YOURSELF
And congratulate yourself for all that you have already achieved.
There is only so much one can do in a day. Yes, there are a full 24 hours to maximise, but when you’re feeling ‘burnt out’ – just stop. Or, at the very least, slow down.
Not wanting to sound too much like Ellen Degeneres, also be kind to each other. Small businesses have boomed since the dawn of Covid-19 and the sudden job losses that came along with it. And let’s face it – there’s probably only a handful of small businesses who really know what they’re doing. The rest of us are just out there on a wing and a prayer, hoping that at some point someone will realise how talented we are and make use of our services and products.
So let’s please stop competing, shaming, comparing and all the rest, and just commit to doing our best. The rest just exhausts you.
At home, it’s also time to calm down.
Some schools have already closed. There’s no need for the rigid schedule at this stage. You’ve had a long year. The kids (bless them for soldiering on) have had an equally long and hard year. Allow a few things to slide. Expect your home to be a bit of a mess for a short while. Before you know it, it will be time for schools to reopen and you would’ve spent all your time complaining because things aren’t the way you like them to be. Disclaimer: I’m not saying you should throw ALL the rules out of the window, but only to relax a few of them.
Stop stressing about Christmas lunch!
I swear the planning for Christmas lunch stresses women (generally) out so much: the planning, the shopping, the cooking, the decor, the setting up, the serving, the clearing up, the division of the leftovers (because no one EVER finishes all the food) and then packing everything away again. Right there is at least two weeks’ worth of stress and work during a time when you’re supposed to be resting. Can we start moving away from this ‘tradition’ please? Pretty please?
All of these things, from getting upset because someone didn’t replace the toilet paper in the bathroom to worrying about a loved one admitted to hospital and everything in between, it all adds to your stress, your exhaustion, fatigue, burnout – whatever you’d like to call it.
So let’s learn to take things a bit easier.
Let’s give ourselves a bit more attention. Let’s nourish and pamper ourselves and read a book and listen to some music and veg out in front of the TV. Even if it’s just for a week or so over this Festive Season.
Let’s try to have an actual break this year, because as we’ve been shown, no one knows what curveball we’ll be dealt next.
