18 Mar 21 Day Workaholic Recovery Plan – Week Two (It’s not too late to join in!)

Well, I survived week one of the 21 Day Workaholic Recovery Plan and it was an interesting ride.  Overall, it was a success, but some very interesting habits, mindsets and insights surfaced.  And I don’t believe I’m the only one who has experienced this.

My goal was simple.  After a few months of too many long work days and too few breaks, my batteries drained, my mind frazzled and my energy just about disappeared. Aside of being cranky and tired, the irony is that the more I worked at this frenzied pace, the less and less productive I became.   So I took a few days to get away with 3 simple goals in mind; 1) Get more sleep, 2) Take a much needed break and, 3) Juice on a daily basis.  All three of which are my reliable recharging tools.

Sleep and Rest:

Since sleep is one of the most important fondations of anyone’s health plan, I normally place a high priority on my zzzz’s.   However, the first day on my get away, I found myself popping out of bed at 6am eager to “catch up” on some personal e-mails, listening to podcasts on backlog and a few other things that I literally popped out of bed to jot down on my personal To-Do list.  Half way through the 3rd item, I stopped, looked at the clock (now 6:10am) and realized just how crazy this was, got back into bed and slept for another couple of hours.   Winding down is not so easy at the beginning, but a few days in, sleep was too delicious to skimp on.  The effects were felt almost immediately!

Taking a Much Needed Break:

This one was trickier than I thought it would be.  At the airport, while checking into my flight, I got a few “urgent” work calls – asking for my help to put out a few fires (which turned out to be false alarms thank goodness!).  I immediately started to panic and thought about all of the ways to deal with this when I arrived at my destination.  I took a deep breath and decided to trust that this could all be resolved without me and provided various phone numbers and resources to the fabulous PBE team and unplug.  Sounds simple right?  Well, sort of.

Although everything got handled smoothly, I found myself checking my e-mails on the first day.  The second day, I found myself reading (but not responding) and by the third day, I had to literally remove all temptation and put my phone down and go have fun!  And while I finally pried myself away from work e-mails, I discovered that I was still very much plugged into my devices.  The laptop for some editing work on a video (which I disguised as the “fun” work project), the tablet for Facebook, NY Times, Games, etc., and my phone for a little of everything.  I learned two things; the first is that I need to reread my own blog post called Digital Detox and practice what I preach. The second lesson was realizing how important it is to separate work from play and more specifically, your work and personal e-mails.  I found myself checking personal e-mails and in the process, would see work subject lines go by which immediately took me out of rest mode and got me thinking about work.  Setting clear and strong boundaries is really crucial.

Daily Juicing

Two and a half years ago, I got into green juicing and green smoothies.   Despite the looks I get when I drink them in public, and my niece and nephews making faces (only to try them and like them), I can’t stress enough how life changing this one simple practice has been.  I am off of all caffeine, have sustained energy throughout the day and feel really good from the inside when I’m consistent about juicing.

This fell to the waste side during my work blitz and this week, I picked it back up again.   Being without a juicer, I turned to smoothies, which consisted of my usual, Banana, Avocado, Almond Milk, Cucumber, Kale, Romain Lettuce (and whatever greens are around) and if I felt like making it sweeter, threw in a Medjool Date or a few Blueberries.   But I had a hankering for a Green Juice.  And being the Forte Lauderdale area, I was hard pressed to find a good juice bar.

Later that day, my husband and I drove to Miami to go to a baseball game which the LAST place to find green juice since every food stand offered us beer, chips, greasy fries, hot dogs and peanuts.

But then lo and behold, I looked up and there it was….The Diamond Juice Bar!  With the option for a green juice!  At a baseball game.  In Miami!

 

That was the highlight of my week!

So, now onto Week Two which will be challenging since I’m still on the road with an action packed schedule, but here goes:

Week 2:  Setting-Work-Boundaries-Plan

• Delegating.  I don’t know about you, but my work load drastically increased because I kept saying yes to things!  And being a self professed time optimist, that is a dangerous thing to do. So, I will re-organize, re-prioritize and delegate what I can and make more realistic time lines for what I can’t.
• Adhering to Cut Off Times! I will set clear start and end times.  This includes scheduling in breaks and sticking to it.   Simple?  Not always, but this is where time management comes in.
• Setting Realistic Goals and Time Lines.  This is where I fall down.  My work eyes are way bigger than my work stomach and that gives me a work-tummy ache.  I will re-set more realistically.