Creating time to recover

I hear myself reference it frequently: going from one activity, event or project to the next without time to recover in between. I’ll say, “I just need to get past this _____ (workshop, class, event, deadline) THEN I can ______ (relax, breathe, take a day off, catch up on organizing projects).” My husband will say to me, “You always say that.” Meaning there’s always another workshop, class, event or deadline on the horizon. That’s life, though, isn’t it?

Creating time to recover

When is there NOT something new to prep for??

I am a bridesmaid in a wedding in November. Of 2019. That will be “coming up” for the next fourteen months. Currently, my dad has a birthday this week, Kate’s birthday is in less than two weeks then it’s my hubby’s birthday and before you know it we’re in November which is The Month of A Thousand Celebrations including hosting Thanksgiving for 25, my birthday, then December in all its glory. You get the picture.

This week I’m meeting with some ladies about October workshops. I have a guest blog post due, a Power Point presentation to put together for OnaMission, a board meeting, Faith First every Friday and so on. All of us have STUFF to do. And I love being busy (to a point).

Always having something to look forward is actually one tactic I employ to fight anxiety. There’s a feeling of excited anticipation and I get antsy when there’s nothing to plan, shop for and promote.

Part of my message on this blog is GET BUSY. Most of the ladies in my sphere of influence are on a mission to use their gifts to better the world and expand their influence.

The problem lies in moving from one thing to the next…

• without celebrating our accomplishments and
• without time to recover.

The “a-ha” for me was after years of observing people do something like host an event in their home. Bunco for example. I couldn’t figure out how it took them all week to prep then another week to recover. I’d think, “No wonder people are hesitant to host–that’s a huge commitment!” And in most two-week spans, I’d host three things!

Here’s the difference. They stayed organized as they went along like the “clean as you go” while cooking concept. Then after the event they spent time singularly focused on putting everything away and getting organized for whatever the next thing was, even if the next thing wasn’t on their radar yet.

Without creating time to recover, I, on the other hand had to deal with the mess of the last event as I started prepping for the next.

Things literally piled up which meant the time to recover increased exponentially because I’d be looking for name tags from three events back or wondering where I’d stashed the prizes people had donated for the event last month. And of course any lingering organizational projects only continued to get worse so that when I DID have a moment to breathe, there was only enough time to get about 60% recovered before it was on to the next.

I’m over it. I love getting a lot done and pulling things off at the last minute but now at age 40 and with an almost-toddler, I NEED recovery time not just to put things away and send the follow-up emails but also to reflect, rest and celebrate.

I’m OK with being the person who needs extra time before and after even if it means doing less. I’ve been meaning to do less, anyway.

So don’t be surprised if my production levels go down a bit. My goal is to actually get on top of things here pretty soon. Besides saving my sanity, I think it will also mean more quality events and a less-stressed ME.

What about you? Do you build in recovery time or do you jump from one thing to the next? 

For more reading: Life Never Slows Down and visit the posts suggested below.