I had hoped that I would feel revitalised after my holiday and in some ways I am. It definitely felt good to have some concentrated time off and, of course, to see some sun but why is it that the minute you return from holiday it feels as though you never even left. Not only that, it can feel as though your workload has doubled! That pretty much sums up my week, I am suffering a holiday hangover.
The reality is my workload has not doubled, of course it hasn’t, but I did have a little to catch up on and I am completely disorganised and out of my routine. For me, disorganisation is a disaster. If I have not made a plan for the week or prepped certain tasks ahead of time I just feel as though I am constantly chasing my tail, faffing around not knowing what task to do next and getting more and more stressed about everything I need to do. In the end I do get the necessary tasks done but the process is not as efficient or smooth as it should be.
It might sound as though I run my life like a military operation, but that is not the case. For me the difference between an organised week and chaos is normally about half an hour on a Sunday night. Post holiday, on the Sunday I was busy getting the house organised that I didn’t take the time to plan the week and just thought it would all be fine. The lack of planning coupled with Giulio having a to do more work than usual out of the house meant that the week was chaotic. On a positive note though I did manage to get my training in and completed all necessary tasks, I just didn’t enjoy it all as much as I normally do.
That factor is such an important one though because if you aren’t enjoying your work, then it feels like a real slog. I am incredibly lucky to say that my work rarely feels this way and, aside from loving my job, I have just realised that a big part of it is managing stress levels. It had never occurred to me before that whatever work you do and no matter how much you enjoy it, when you feel under huge amounts of pressure it really does have a negative affect on you and your approach to the tasks in hand. Last week I often found myself feeling as though I could not be bothered doing certain things and I did think it was a case of the holiday blues but I now realise it was because I was feeling under so pressure that I didn’t know where to start so I was just putting off doing anything. A plan removes this internal battle and deliberation. You know what task to do next and just get on with it.
I have always been someone that advocates having a plan and getting organised but that has largely been linked to efficiency, intent and execution. It was never about enjoyment. This is the first time that I have realised that being organised helps me enjoy the process more. I do feel levels of stress on a weekly basis, I think everyone does in their work and home life, but if I am organised I can manage that stress, when I am disorganised I find it gets on top of me and gets me down.
Whenever I try to get people to be more organised whether that be with food, exercise or other areas of their life I am often met with the reply that life is too complicated and changeable to plan effectively and life is like that, but I would suggest that the more unpredictable your life is the more important it is for you to take control of certain parts, for example, your nutrition, in order to minimise the areas of stress as much as you possibly can. I should add that I do not have the sort of personality that needs a spreadsheet for every task or am a person that leads a regimented life. In my life no two days are the same, my husband and I work different hours every week, we run a company which, as anyone that works for themselves knows, is incredibly unpredictable in every way and we are juggling childcare of a 1 year old. Large elements of my life are chaotic and I am totally fine with it, but that is because I control the factors that I can control. I schedule my workouts, I plan my meals and each week I schedule in my work. It is only when I haven’t done these tasks that I feel as though it all starts to unravel slightly. Therefore, no matter how busy you are and how unpredictable your schedule is if you want to make changes, whether that be to health and fitness or anything else, you need to get organised and take control of all the elements that you can.
Mid way through this week, I was just convinced that I had a holiday hangover and that was all it was but it felt good to have to take the time to reflect on the week for this blog as it made me realise that much more was happening. I am optimistic that this week will be far less stressful and I am looking forward to getting stuck in. I also hope that one day I remember what a proper hangover is! I miss the fun that leads to those.
Fit Bird
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