Our wedding anniversary typically falls around Labor Day. My husband and I usually schedule time off work around the holiday weekend to celebrate by traveling a bit. This year marks our 30th wedding anniversary, so we decided to do something special. We visited Grand Teton National Park. We not only needed a grand gesture to celebrate our milestone, but also to get as far away from our day-to-day as possible. Pre-COVID-19, I wrote about how it benefits your job when you take a break from it. Mid-COVID-19, a break feels mandatory. With the blurred boundaries between work, home, school, etc., how can you process what you just lived through (and continue to live through) and use those learnings to iterate the next version of your life post-COVID-19? You don’t have to go all the way to Wyoming, but you should unplug, reset, and filter.
Unplug
We chose to get away to a place with little to no cell service, mostly because I can’t be trusted to enforce my OOO boundary. But maybe your children are in the throes of the beginning of both the school year and their fall extracurriculars so you need to stick close to home. Get creative about taking time to recharge. For example, take half-days off for a week. While the rest of your household is doing their things, turn off your phone, laptop, Xbox, etc., and change your scenery. If your job is sedentary, go to a Metropark and bike, walk, or kayak. If your job is physical, go to the library and read, journal, or listen to music. Whichever you choose, commit to only answering your mobile if there is a life (not work) emergency.
Reset
Get out of your comfort zone. Choose one activity you’ve never done before and do it every day for the week. If you work by yourself, follow CDC guidelines and do a project with others. If you work with others, find a solitary pursuit. You could:
- Volunteer at your local food bank, church, or YWCA
- Study coding with Python
- Learn to cook your favorite restaurant meal with YouTube videos
- Listen to different music (e.g., rap if you’re a country fan)
- Read a different genre (e.g., non-fiction if you normally read sci-fi)
By the end of the week, you’ll know whether or not your choice is an activity you enjoy. If it helps you reset your mindset, then make time in your schedule to keep doing it.
Filter
At the end of each day, journal about your new activity. You could write, doodle, voice memo, whatever is your choice for making notes. Think about:
- What did you see, hear, touch, taste, and/or smell?
- How did it make you feel?
- What did you learn?
- What does it make you want to change?
- What does it make you want to keep doing?
- How will you use these new insights to influence your work?
- Are there priorities you have to reset? People to whom you have to communicate boundaries? Comfort zones you have to get out of?
Prioritizing your physical, mental, and emotional health gives you the energy you need to bring your best effort to work, life, and people in your circle of influence.
What are you going to do to recharge? Please share in the comments.