My phone is getting old. It doesn’t hold the charge as long as it did when I first got the phone. Most days, I have to plug it in around lunchtime to charge, even if I haven’t used it very often. I have taken to carrying a charger with me if I’m going to be out for half the day, and always make sure to plug it in at night.
I have realised that my phone is a pretty good representation of my energy levels.
When I do things, my energy levels go down a lot faster than they used to, and I need more down time.
This could be as simple as having a nap during the day, or a longer lunch break. There are times when I need days to recover from activity.
If I have something on in the evening, I need to be able to have a slow start the next day. That means not starting before 10am (early appointments are an absolute no on those days).
This is also something I need to consider in any pricing structure for what I do. I can’t have back-to-back meetings with clients, they need to be spaced out, this means I have to take this into account with what I charge. For example, I can’t have three one-hour clients between 9am and 12 noon. If I do this, I will burn out. Instead, I could have two with a break in between.
I used to think there was something wrong with me not being able to work constantly like others seem to be able to do. I now know this is simply how my body operates.
Part of me accepting my ‘new normal’ and working with my brain is realising that I need plenty of recharge time. I need that time watching mindless shows on TV and doomscrolling, or taking a long shower, or simply not being ‘productive’. This is not a ‘nice to have’ it is an absolute need.
I am still learning how to embrace it, bring it into the everyday, and make it work for me instead of doing everything to work against it.
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