Workshop Day 2

It takes an enormous amount of energy to be around people sometimes.

Brain dead

I was thinking that I would come back from vacation and have all this "stuff" I wanted to talk about - wit and wisdom or SOMETHING.

What I really have is exhaustion and a wish for quiet and a nap. I know that is just because it is my first couple of days back. As I said yesterday, my job requires an enormous amount of mental and emotional energy. Hard to get back in the groove...I don't want to be in the same grooves, I want to make new ones. Better ones. Ones that involve 8 hour days not 12 hours. I manage it for a while, then I start slipping again.

I hope to be back in full force by the weekend, but I will continue to forge ahead.

Energy Realization

It has been a really long time since I took a vacation unhooked completely. Usually, I check my email while away, just to keep up with things. This time, I didn't do that once I left for the beach.

Wow. I am amazed at how much energy I use when I'm at work. Today wasn't particularly hard, but I had a lot of catching up to do. I felt the tension rise up in my neck by about noon. I was needing a nap by about 2:30pm. By 8pm, when I was finally able to leave, I was DRAGGING.

It isn't just the energy it takes to be around people - it is the energy it takes to multi-task, to track all decisions and comments and protocols as they change day to day, sometimes minute by minute. It is the energy it takes to understand people's cryptic messaging - the more communication technology we have, the less clear our communication seems to be.

I had a good day, but it made me realize that I have to CREATE time and opportunities for unhooking more regularly. I can't be "ON" all the time or I will eventually turn off.