WELL. It’s been quite a fortnight, trying to a) catch up on an increasingly overwhelming workload at work, b) tame our house that got out of control during the cyclone scare, c) manage extra kids stuff including medical appointments - all while battling some mood and energy issues that have meant I have NOT felt myself.
Overall, no major disasters have occurred that would explain why this past two weeks have felt SO hard, to the point where I couldn’t even blog. I think it was simply a combination of factors:
work is extra busy this semester because I’ve taken on a teaching role at my university, and I’m also undertaking training in university teaching, in addition to my usual research and service roles. It’s ALOT and I was barely keeping up before the disruption of 6 days at home with the kids on cyclone watch.
My parents had guests staying last week so even if they were back they weren’t able to help with the kids at all (things are back to normal this week- hooray)
Our house was very messy after the cyclone with the kids stuck indoors for a week, plus areas were cluttered because we moved the rooms around last month, yet I felt unable to get on top of it.
Friday I did finally make some progress on a couple of urgent work tasks that made me feel slightly better, and over the weekend I made some progress on the house. I also had an early morning solo walk where I practiced mindfulness and then stopped at a picnic table to do some planning. I decided some detailed daily planning is warranted for now (I often just use my weekly planner and Outlook/google calendars for planning).
Inspired as always by SHU’s techniques. I created this daily page:
And it was helpful! Zooming in and focusing on the day rather than a longer timescale was calming, I slowly ticked things off my list, and made sure I had some fun activities in there too. We did visit my parents, which was lovely to chat and have coffee and tea together while the kids played. I did get to listen to my podcast, have a nap, and got some decluttering done (the dining room table is usable again, hooray). So I’m going to do this daily planning for a while.
In other news, some updates on last 10 days:
O has to have surgery! He has a hernia (has had it his whole life), and his day surgery is booked in for early April. It will be the first time one of our kids have had a general anaesthetic or surgery, so we are a bit nervous but also glad it’s being done after a few years of knowing this was coming.
We had a lovely evening with my aunt and uncle Friday night at my parents. This is my mother’s sister and her husband, and they are so lovely and fun, but they live on the other side of Australia so we hadn’t seen them in 5 years- pre Covid and O. It was like no time had passed, they were great with the kids, who wanted to show them ALL their soft toys. Later the kids watched a tv show while the adults had our dinner and got to catch up. It was a lovely evening.
Al and I have booked a mini break for ourselves for April! I’ve been feeling lately like we need some kid free time (understatement!). Al’s parents are coming to stay with us around Easter and are happy to look after the kids for two nights. We are staying in a local resort on the Sunshine Coast, and I can’t wait! Bonus it was a great price too.
I’ll leave it on that happy note. Happy Monday all. What strategies do you use to get through a stressful/overwhelming time? I’d love to hear ideas.
Hi Sophie,
while I am an active reader of your blog, I am not so actively commenting...I just wanted to say that I totally understand your situation. I hope that you have more margin in the weeks to come and you get back some of your energy.
I am also an academic with a teaching contract and a research position. They should technically add up to a 4 day work week (by my choice), and be half-half. But currently I am also finishing a period of teaching with up to 16 contact hours per week plus preparation/revamping a course. Needless to say that there are a lot of things that dropped off my radar and did not get done, including…
I am soooo glad you're going to get away. It is such a hectic stage of parenting and you've had the weather + work. I hope you get to take MANY pool-side shots like that.
My go-to strategy when I'm feeling overwhelmed is to write a brain dump list where I don't just write down everything I NEED to do, but all the other niggling thoughts about things I could do. It really helps me to get it all out on paper.
Oh Sophie, cut yourself big slab of slack! I am the worse when it comes to relaxing and taking time for myself but I am learning, slowly.
You had had quite a few weeks so it’s understandable that you feel overwhelmed. I would be as gentle as possible with yourself! (But again, I don’t follow my own advice)
Strategies… I write, pray to the universe, do yoga and get alone time. Crying helps too. Lists, always lists. Silence.