putting in my 3 cents here... I am simply in AWE of all the Mom's & Dad's who have had to navigate their job,(work from home) care & manage a household, a baby, children & become a teacher via home schooling since March 2020! You're everything! I mean, I am a grandma and sit and ponder...could I have even DONE this? So, Hats OFF, Cheers! & You are KILLING it.. even if each day isn't what you envisioned. I once read a cute quote from a mom of twins.. she shared her struggles and anxiety of "doing enough" and her friend told her.. If you gave them goldfish for dinner and they are clean and fed...well, You're a winner today! So ease up Mama's... you got this!
This is so, so, so on point, Katie. That photo of you and your beautiful baby is just perfect -- it captures this whole crazy year in one snapshot. I relate so much to what you're saying, and I kick myself too for not doing "more" recently... as if I even know what that "more" should be, you know? Something interesting I've found with my own newsletter is that sending fewer emails has actually resulted in more engaging conversations on the remaining ones I do send, and fewer unsubscribes with feedback like "I just can't keep up with all the emails." And for my day job, I was having a conversation with my manager yesterday about plans for the future, and I'm like... the future? 😃 It takes all my mental processing power to get through *today*. Thank you for this -- I know I'm/we're not alone.
You have just explained my internal thinking these past few months and my personal struggle. Everything I love to do is now focused on using some kind of digital device. No more working out at the gym (I love changing hats between work and a destination) plus having to leave work to go somewhere gets me to wind down my day, prep for the next day and leave physically. Now my classes are online and I have lost interest. I'm not interested in strangers I have no connection with seeing my personal space. I live in the country which means a bit of commute home so going to the gym in town after work, I can still run errands for myself and my aging mom whom I share a property with. Then there's my courses, now all online, I meet people in tiny squares and try to imagine what it would be like to actually share our stories after class or grab a quick coffee, it is great to have access to classes all over the world, but at the same time, its a bit more challenging to build a close comraderie with my assigned small group. I mean of course I'd love to travel to South Africa or Australia one day to meet my fellow student colleagues, but travel isn't exactly on my "soon to do" dream list. I'd honestly prefer not to complain and focus on all the good that has happened in the past year (because some things have been a nice change) and most of the time I'm able to be thankful, generate gratitude etc. But the deep down truth is I'm emotionally tired. I'm tired of talking to my sweet granddaughter on FaceTime, I want to hold her and walk beside her, to see her expressions, mannerisms, to have her climb on my lap and read a book. The last time I saw her she was 2 months old, and then the Pandemic - she lives in the US.
Then there's my team, 1/2 in the office, 1/2 working remotely. Some things are wonderful, its quieter here now and I enjoy that aspect. I miss the roundtable impromptu discussions, knowing how my fellow staff are managing in their day to day lives, making connections. the meetings that we do on zoom are good, and I'm grateful to see their faces (and their dogs) its not the same, the delay in speaking, the technology glitches "you're on mute" break the flow. I'm not giving up, I'm not giving in but I am longing and anticipating with hope the time that I can attend an inperson gym class, have dinners with friends, hug my granddaughter and travel. In the meantime I'm grateful for writers like yourself who have the eloquent gift of communication and can articulate well what we are all facing. We truly are all in this together. /Dianne
So true! And compassionately expressed. Without a change of pace nor a mix of environments we’ve lost a sense of cadence and flow to our biorhythm. Even when we ARE productive we feel we are not.
I, particularly, have no meter by which to measure my own sense of accomplishment, whereas at business lunches or meetings or coworking spaces I could hear from others, and their projects or ambitions could pique my own motivation. I could just feel good about sharing all that I have “going on” (as do you) or have done well (as you acknowledge). Without that, it’s just a feeling of wanting more while experiencing distraction and flagging productivity. Feeling less because we haven’t done MORE.
So — I salute your desire to do more of less. And to feel better about doing less because in this case, less IS more.
putting in my 3 cents here... I am simply in AWE of all the Mom's & Dad's who have had to navigate their job,(work from home) care & manage a household, a baby, children & become a teacher via home schooling since March 2020! You're everything! I mean, I am a grandma and sit and ponder...could I have even DONE this? So, Hats OFF, Cheers! & You are KILLING it.. even if each day isn't what you envisioned. I once read a cute quote from a mom of twins.. she shared her struggles and anxiety of "doing enough" and her friend told her.. If you gave them goldfish for dinner and they are clean and fed...well, You're a winner today! So ease up Mama's... you got this!
This is so, so, so on point, Katie. That photo of you and your beautiful baby is just perfect -- it captures this whole crazy year in one snapshot. I relate so much to what you're saying, and I kick myself too for not doing "more" recently... as if I even know what that "more" should be, you know? Something interesting I've found with my own newsletter is that sending fewer emails has actually resulted in more engaging conversations on the remaining ones I do send, and fewer unsubscribes with feedback like "I just can't keep up with all the emails." And for my day job, I was having a conversation with my manager yesterday about plans for the future, and I'm like... the future? 😃 It takes all my mental processing power to get through *today*. Thank you for this -- I know I'm/we're not alone.
You have just explained my internal thinking these past few months and my personal struggle. Everything I love to do is now focused on using some kind of digital device. No more working out at the gym (I love changing hats between work and a destination) plus having to leave work to go somewhere gets me to wind down my day, prep for the next day and leave physically. Now my classes are online and I have lost interest. I'm not interested in strangers I have no connection with seeing my personal space. I live in the country which means a bit of commute home so going to the gym in town after work, I can still run errands for myself and my aging mom whom I share a property with. Then there's my courses, now all online, I meet people in tiny squares and try to imagine what it would be like to actually share our stories after class or grab a quick coffee, it is great to have access to classes all over the world, but at the same time, its a bit more challenging to build a close comraderie with my assigned small group. I mean of course I'd love to travel to South Africa or Australia one day to meet my fellow student colleagues, but travel isn't exactly on my "soon to do" dream list. I'd honestly prefer not to complain and focus on all the good that has happened in the past year (because some things have been a nice change) and most of the time I'm able to be thankful, generate gratitude etc. But the deep down truth is I'm emotionally tired. I'm tired of talking to my sweet granddaughter on FaceTime, I want to hold her and walk beside her, to see her expressions, mannerisms, to have her climb on my lap and read a book. The last time I saw her she was 2 months old, and then the Pandemic - she lives in the US.
Then there's my team, 1/2 in the office, 1/2 working remotely. Some things are wonderful, its quieter here now and I enjoy that aspect. I miss the roundtable impromptu discussions, knowing how my fellow staff are managing in their day to day lives, making connections. the meetings that we do on zoom are good, and I'm grateful to see their faces (and their dogs) its not the same, the delay in speaking, the technology glitches "you're on mute" break the flow. I'm not giving up, I'm not giving in but I am longing and anticipating with hope the time that I can attend an inperson gym class, have dinners with friends, hug my granddaughter and travel. In the meantime I'm grateful for writers like yourself who have the eloquent gift of communication and can articulate well what we are all facing. We truly are all in this together. /Dianne
So true! And compassionately expressed. Without a change of pace nor a mix of environments we’ve lost a sense of cadence and flow to our biorhythm. Even when we ARE productive we feel we are not.
I, particularly, have no meter by which to measure my own sense of accomplishment, whereas at business lunches or meetings or coworking spaces I could hear from others, and their projects or ambitions could pique my own motivation. I could just feel good about sharing all that I have “going on” (as do you) or have done well (as you acknowledge). Without that, it’s just a feeling of wanting more while experiencing distraction and flagging productivity. Feeling less because we haven’t done MORE.
So — I salute your desire to do more of less. And to feel better about doing less because in this case, less IS more.
YOU ARE MORE. 🕺🏼⚡️