Shit is tough right now. That’s the truth of it.
I’m not going to whine on about how everything is more difficult and weird, because if I read the word ‘unprecedented’ one more time this week I’m going to scream, and it’s only Tuesday.
This blog is about how you get out of that feeling of exhaustion, overwhelm and struggle into taking action, but it might not quite look the way that you expect.
In a doubled up state of exhaustion and overwhelm, everything is a bit fuzzy around the edges. There’s brain fog and a struggle with your motor function that means that everything you type might be riddled with typos, or your higher level abilities to draft snazzy analogies and witty rejoinders are just… not there. Disappeared. You feel flat and dull and like every single step you take involves lugging a boulder along with you.
You are, as my dear old mum used to put it, swimming through custard.
At this point you have two options.
Option A - give up. Go back to bed. Start again tomorrow
Or, Option B - get started and get moving.
Option A is favoured by people the world over, but for the perfectionist, imposter syndrome riddled, burned out worker, Option A doesn’t really exist. Oh we take the odd sick day or a day’s holiday to have a duvet day or catch up on our life admin (a toxic turn of events that deserves a whole blog to itself), but otherwise we will push through and push through until we fall down exhausted.
Literally.
Like the time I kicked off my high heels in the middle of reception after a 15 hour mediation fell apart and decided, you know what, I’m getting on the floor and staying here. This is where I live now.
Burnout is not pretty, people.
So Option B is our only option, say. We know we need to get shit done. How do we do that?
Now, this might be the point that I would ordinarily drag out my decision matrix tool and the time recorder and help people to get clarity on where its all going a bit sideways and where they could do with more focus on the big priorities.
But that’s not where we’re going today.
You’re exhausted. You’re overwhelmed. You’re looking around in panic and don’t know where to start. Everything feels fuzzy and big and scary and overwhelming. You’re so tired you’re struggling to write a single sentence without needing to get the spellchecker on it.
We start somewhere different.
We simply decide to move the needle.
The height of exhaustion and overwhelm is not the time to conduct an archaeological dig into your inbox to resurface all the tired and crusty half finished projects, the pitch you haven’t sent yet and those LinkedIn messages that you know you really need to respond to.
Our mantra for today is ‘progress over perfection’.
No, it’s not even ‘done is better than perfect’, because I am completely resetting your expectations.
Done isn’t what we’re aspiring to.
We are simply moving the things that absolutely must be moved forward today, a little further forward.
We aren’t kicking the can down the road, we are taking real and tangible action that moves us further forward, but the expectations on it are low.
What are the top 3 things that need a little time and attention today?
Do you have the capacity to manage those things?
If not, niche it down a little.
A single step is better than no step at all.
Today I need to have the new workshop details available for people to see and to sign up. That’s going to take a payment link and a sales page.
I’m managing my expectations.
The sales page isn’t going to be fabulous, it’s going to be functional. It will cover what it needs to, in it’s most clear and to the point way.
I’m going to put it out there in the full appreciation that tomorrow, I’m going to need to cast an eye over it again, make a few adjustments, clean up my typos.
However, with my mantra of progress over perfection, then that is in fact, perfection.
These are the days when my to do list shuffle comes in to it’s own.
What are the tasks that need to be done but involve passing responsibility or action to others?
Chasing up the other side for their response, getting on the phone to paypal to sort out that refund. Attending meetings where I can riff off of other people instead of have to stand alone.
These are the tasks you pull out of you to do list. They may not be the most urgent. They may not be the most important. But it’s about moving through and onward, even if it’s at a slower place.
Showing up, even in a slightly shambolic state, and making some effort is far far easier than holding off and going back to bed, if you can avoid it.
Why?
Because taking some action means that the path unfolds in front of you. It becomes easier when you’ve got a little more capacity to think, and it means that a few things are off your plate for when you have a little more capacity to think straight.
It means that you get out of the habit of deferring for perfection, waiting for the right day to do things at your best or thinking that there will be some kind of magic moment when you won’t be exhausted and overwhelmed and stressed and completely unable to string a sentence together.
It’s kinder to yourself, expectations managed, and it’s kinder to the people around you when you can feel happier about taking some action, instead of snapping because you’ve put yourself under the boulder of perfectionism and can’t get back out from underneath it.
There are some days when, doing the easy tasks, moving projects forward without coming to a conclusion, or doing an OK-enough job is absolutely what the doctor ordered. Truth be told, they are most days. Epic achieving ninja days when you’ve smashed your to do list by 10am and drinking margaritas by 11am are the exception rather than the rule.
And when you are in the midst of exhaustion and overwhelm and feeling tired and drained and a little rubbed down by sandpaper, doused in lemon juice and rolled in salt… well a little self-compassion wouldn’t go amiss would it?
So, if this is you right now, practice a little self-compassion with me.
Progress over perfection.
Keep it moving.
Slow is better than nothing.
Support yourself, because god knows you support enough people around you.
You’re doing a good job, and that’s enough.
Take care of yourself,
Leah
PS, want to see that sales page I was talking about? The one that’s functional but not exactly fabulous? Click here. It’s for this Thursday’s workshop, no6 in the Grit and Resilience Series, where I’ll be talking about Cultivating Connection, and why we all need it in the search for stress and anxiety solutions.
If you ever wanted a simple, straight forward and effective tool for managing your negative stress and anxiety, this is it. You can join us from just £12.50 and get a full week of support from me too.