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Dear friends,
Somehow, it’s May. It is hard to overstate how difficult these times are, and I’m glad you’re still with me! The only way we will get through this is together. Many of you know that I am having an exceptionally challenging grant-writing experience right now. Given that my non-work life is always eventful, I have been overworked and tired. My solution- schedule time for fun!
Several months ago, my eldest and I decided to take a mother-son trip together over his spring break. We chose a destination that we had talked about for years. As it got closer, I realized that the timing for vacation was terrible, and huge amounts of urgent work landed on me in the weeks prior to travel. I was at an in-person donor meeting right before we left, and my husband ended up packing the random stuff I had dumped onto my bed into a suitcase so that we could make our flight. To a planner like me, it felt insane.
Despite the exhausting sprint to get there, the vacation was everything I hoped for and more. The activities and logistics of sightseeing occupied me enough to set aside work worries. Even coming back with intense jetlag and facing painful email catch-up, I have found myself returning to vacation memories. The uninterrupted time together was a gift that has kept me going over the last couple of weeks.
If we had not decided many months in advance to take vacation, I would never have made the time during such a busy season. And if I had known how tired I would be, I would not have gone on such an active trip to a destination several time zones away. It turns out both of those instincts are wrong! Having an immersive, captivating experience truly rejuvenated me. Had I been sitting by the pool somewhere warm, I am sure I would have been tempted to bring my laptop, but there was no way to squeeze in work with all the fun we planned. We fell into bed tired every night and woke up excited for a full day of adventures.
More importantly, even if I had cancelled my vacation and worked that entire week, I bet I would still feel behind and stressed at work right now. Sometimes there is just too much work, for reasons beyond our control.
So my lesson for the month is to be ambitious about your fun. Plan something that sounds amazing. Commit to it far enough in advance that you can enjoy looking forward to it, and don’t let your work overload stop you. Big fun might be the motivation you need to get through a hard time at work.
Please drop me a line and tell me about your big fun plans! Please share widely, as usual, and let others know they can sign up here.
Warmly,
Urmimala