Time to read: Less than a minute
How are you doing around 5:00?
I bet you find yourself reaching for a glass of wine, exhausted, barely able to put two sentences together. Without the wine, that's exactly what I'm like every evening.
so
so
tired
On the Corporate Rebel Daily call, everyone does a two-word check-in about how they feel in that moment. Lately words like, "weary," "exhausted," and "tired" have been popular.
What the heck is going on? We have more free time. We aren't rushing around. We're eating meals at home. It seems like we should be better rested, not worse.
Here's the answer. It's called allostatic load. Read about that here. The executive summary is that your brain is working on overdrive even if your body isn't. One of my coaches, Ann Betz, used the apt metaphor of your cell phone: All the apps and systems run down the battery even if you're not using your phone.
That is your brain right now.
You have stress and anxiety running in your operating system which explains why you can only handle The Bachelor after 6:00 and can barely muster the energy to pull yourself off the couch to go to bed.
The danger is that you start to feel that it is your inadequacy that causes you to be so tired. Now you know that allostatic load is a real thing and has nothing to do with your character or abilities. So, enjoy the Bachelor and take care of yourself.
I hope this helps.
Christina
P.S. Here are two free resources to help you and yours during this challenging time. Spread them around and enjoy!
1. Rebels at Home Challenge: This challenge is a series of eight 3-minute daily video exercises to uplift you and help you find your place in this global pandemic. And it will give you something new to talk about at your next Zoom happy hour. Sign up here.
2. The Unconventional Guide to Working from Home: This is a downloadable pdf of practical tips and big picture strategies to help you be efficient, focused and effective at home. Click to download the pdf here.