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Ooof ... what a long few days!

tjscraps

tjscraps

Tomorrow I'll do what I want to do
Joined
May 20, 2010
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1,130
This is my busiest time of the year at work (I do HR for a school board, we're planning for next school year) - I've been working 12+ hours a day for the last week or so.

Hopefully it slows down soon, but I wanted to know what you do for strategies when things are too busy - how do you stay sane??
 
Ugh me too! We are down a hygienist so the other hygienists and I have been picking up extra days here & there to cover. I've been quite spoiled working my 2 days a week- adding an extra day is really hard on my back & neck I've realized! :/

To stay sane (because of course on top of work, is all the other busy life stuff right!?), I'm a big list maker. I do use a planner that just stays on my desk, but I make lists for what NEEDS done and what I would like to get done. That way the NEED is always done. Also- thankfully my hubby is awesome and able to pick up the slack when I'm working. He can work from home if he needs to- so he did a lot of the laundry this week for me, on top of the kids activities and taxi-ing! I'm off work tomorrow- so there's a LONG list of stuff to do- but the weekend is looking a little less busy so hopefully I can chip away at my list from this crazy week!

Hope you weekend looks less crazy for you!
 
Plan. I have a white board schedule in the kitchen, where I plan dinners and keep track of everything. Also, I try to keep a "stash" of dinners in the freezer, so that I have food ready if a day gets totally crazy.

10 minute meditation can make wonders. It doesn't have to be more advanced that sitting down, close your eyes and just breathe. You don't have to have any fancy technique. By taking deep breaths, you slow your heart rate. Here's an interesting 3-minute test to do: take out your phone and use the timer. Breathe normally for 1 minute and count your breaths, then breathe deep breaths (as long & deep as you can) for one minute (no need to count), then for the 3rd minute, breathe normally again and count your breaths. You will do less - this shows how calming deep breaths are.

Most important: lower your expectations, and don't judge yourself for not being able to do everything right. When life is stressful, you can't be the best you. Forgive yourself and accept life as it is.
 
Me too! seriously I need some extra days, lol. My strategies are pretty simply, yoga, qi gong or tai chi, no panic and the idea that what is able to do, it's gonna be done, and that's it.
 
My chronic pain definitely dictates my life. There are days when I don't do much, and then I feel the pressure on the days when I feel OK to do all the things I missed when I was trying to be gentle with myself. I've learned to not do all the things, even when I'm feeling better because so often I will overdo it and then end up having to recover for more hours/days than I would have if I had just paced myself. It's a grueling taskmaster.

Having said that, I do use lists and a planner, although I have to admit my poor planner has been collecting dust. In addition to things that I'd like to do or need to do, it's always good to have a list for the day so I can detail what I have been able to accomplish. My brain is foggy, so I often forget what I've done in a day, so that running list is a great encouragement.
 
Oh my gosh! 12 hour days is TOO long! I sure hope that doesn't last too long! I just recently went through about a 4-5 month period of insanely busy times at work myself. I was going in early, working through lunch and staying late some days, but not 12 hours worth! It definitely drained on me. My hubby was good about telling me to stop and walk away. It'll be there tomorrow. Otherwise I probably would have worked more. My biggest helper was to be organized and keep a task list.... and celebrate every small thing I was able to complete. I needed to feel like I was making progress towards my deadlines otherwise I might have gone crazy. Lol.
 
gonewiththewind said:
My chronic pain definitely dictates my life. There are days when I don't do much, and then I feel the pressure on the days when I feel OK to do all the things I missed when I was trying to be gentle with myself. I've learned to not do all the things, even when I'm feeling better because so often I will overdo it and then end up having to recover for more hours/days than I would have if I had just paced myself. It's a grueling taskmaster.

Having said that, I do use lists and a planner, although I have to admit my poor planner has been collecting dust. In addition to things that I'd like to do or need to do, it's always good to have a list for the day so I can detail what I have been able to accomplish. My brain is foggy, so I often forget what I've done in a day, so that running list is a great encouragement.
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thinking of you my dear sweet friend :heartslub love you:heartslub
 
Karen said:
I needed to feel like I was making progress towards my deadlines otherwise I might have gone crazy. Lol.
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This might be the "worst" part - the job postings and such I've been doing is just the beginning of the cycle, right? After that comes the contracts, onboarding, documents, etc. I know it'll slow down ... just don't know how I'll get it all done! lol
 
I'm currently overwhelmed too and I really don't stay sane! I need to do more yoga and just TRY to get to bed earlier! My son is having some wisdom tooth issues that caused some other problems so I'm worried sick about that and some other family stuff going along with all the stresses from work. I need a break! :(
 
It's so challenging isn't it? Hope you can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I always think I am going OK (especially now I have dropped some other work and focusing on designing) but then I have a big photoshoot or other job thrown into the mix and all the 'slack' disappears, nothing like the dishes or tidying up gets done and that all makes for a feeling of chaos. Hate it! I definitely agree with setting aside a few hours if you can to make and freeze meals ahead of time so that at least you don't have to think about that during the week, and can eat OK :-)
 
gonewiththewind said:
My chronic pain definitely dictates my life. There are days when I don't do much, and then I feel the pressure on the days when I feel OK to do all the things I missed when I was trying to be gentle with myself. I've learned to not do all the things, even when I'm feeling better because so often I will overdo it and then end up having to recover for more hours/days than I would have if I had just paced myself. It's a grueling taskmaster.
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This is so true. I've had to adapt that as much as I can in my life given my many different chronic conditions and now that my mum has long covid, she's learning that too.....if only her boss would be more understanding of it then we would be in much better shape I think (basically because her boss has recently had COVID she thinks she knows everything about Covid including Long Covid and doesn't want to truly work with my mum on how to manage at work....her solution is "take two or three weeks off", unfortunately that's not how Long COVID works)
 
If it's work: boundaries. I work 8 hours a day, not more. I switched positions last year and even though my (now old) colleagues say they felt it differently, but management and looking in from the outside showed me I was replaceable. So I will not be working my a** off anymore. I mean, I still do but within my boundaries. If there is too much work, it's too much work. And sure, there's times where I shuffle a bit with my hours, there are low and highs, but it has to be doable.
I used to be a teacher and now work for the same college but now as a project leader for the implementation of an educational IT system.

Personally: I find people to talk to. I schedule alone time. I focus on self care.
Being pregnant, I also excuse myself for not having a very productive day: my body is hard at work, I can't have it all. And this baby is much more important than having a clean house.
 
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