Decision Fatigue Is a Real Thing. What To Do About It.

Time to read: 45 seconds

Now that strict stay-at-home orders are lifted, the number of decisions you have to make each day has grown exponentially. We were all (mostly) playing by the same rules in March and April which made things easier or at least, clear.

Making decisions taxes your brain leaving you drained and exhausted.

Every.Little.Thing.Feels.Like.A.Slog.

• Do you let your child see friends in person when you're confident they won't social distance?
• Is it ok to hang out with friends in your backyard? What if they have to use the bathroom?
• Should you travel? Should you fly? Drive?
• Can you see your parents again?
• Is it safe to go to the grocery store? Use a public restroom?
• What will you do all summer now that every plan is cancelled?

I've had days where I tell my husband not to ask me another question. Even a simple one. I just don't have the capacity to make one more decision. Even deciding what's for dinner can feel like too much.

You can do a couple of simple things to help your brain and preserve your energy for the most important decisions.

1. Create habits. Take a look at the decisions you're making and see what you can turn into a habit. Can you eat the same dinners on a rotation? Can you work out at the same time every day? Steve Jobs wore only a black turtleneck to preserve his brain energy for the decisions that mattered. Worked out pretty well for him.
2. Pick your spheres of influence. You can't decide if people wear masks in public or if they go to crowded bars. So, let all those things go and only focus on the decisions that are in your sphere of influence - your family, job, home, and community.
3. Sleep. Let your brain rest and integrate. Know when it's time to stop. You'll have more decision making power the next day.

I hope this helps! I always love to hear from you so reach out anytime.

Christina

Feeling Lost? This Is Why....

Time to read: 2 minutes

You are living in liminal space.

Liminal what?!

Liminal space happens between two things. You know that blue light time in the evening when it's not day and it's not night? That's liminal space. Liminal space is an anthropological concept originally used to describe important cultural rituals that move people from one identity to another (single to married, child to adult, alive to dead). You are in in-between time right now. Not in your old world and not in your new one.

When you're in liminal space, you feel ungrounded, rudderless, even a little lost. Does this feel familiar?

Keep reading for examples, why this matters and what to do about it.

Examples:

• You take a new job and give notice. Those weird three weeks when you are no longer fully in your old job and are not yet in your new job? That's liminal space.
• When a wedding starts, the couple enters as single people and are catapulted into liminal space until they are declared married at the end of the ceremony.
• A pandemic sweeps the globe upending life as you know it, leaving you uncertain about the future and the structures you rely on for security.

Like I said in the first line, every day is liminal space right now. You are between the identity and the life you had in January and whatever is coming next. You don't know when this will end or how. It's unnerving.

It's also powerful. All bets are off and the possibility for creativity is endless.

So, what do you do about liminal space?

1. Name it. Check! You just did that by reading this newsletter. Naming it takes the pressure off.
2. Keep going. Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going." There is no magic formula. The only way out is through. You keep walking up that aisle. You keep wrapping up the old job. You keep walking the dog and making dinner. Keep going until you land, new and ready to go on the other side.
3. Find your protectors. In cultural rituals, people are shepherded through liminal space by friends and elders. Think bridesmaids and mentors. You are not meant to go through this alone. In today's world, everyone is in liminal space so you have to find your protectors and be the protector for others. And yourself.

I'd be honored to be one of your protectors as my clients are protectors for me. Thriving in Uncertain Times is the perfect place to keep going together.

We start on May 28 at 10:00 CT. This program is designed to be easy on the budget and easy on your time. You get 20% off your registration through Memorial Day. If you can't make the calls live, no worries. They will be recorded so you can put on your headphones and listen while you walk your dog.

A six-week coaching experience for Corporate Rebels

REGISTER HERE

20% off if you sign up by Memorial Day.

I look forward to spending more time with you!

Christina

Back to Basics

Time to read: 45 seconds

My home yoga studio

Last week, I saw anxiety at 3:00 am more nights than I care to count. As I lay in bed, yet again, I noticed that I had allowed my physical self-care to slide. Yoga fell off the radar. Cookies were a nightly snack. (If I'm honest, they were a morning, afternoon and nightly snack.) And clearly, sleep was elusive. Let's just say, my family noticed the slide, too.

So, this week, I committed to bring back the basics - nutrition, exercise, sleep, and mindfulness. I set up a one-week experiment.

My hypothesis: If I do basic things to take care of myself, I will feel calmer and sleep better.

Here are my commitments for this week:

• yoga 3x
• meditation 3x
• no sugar
• daily walks
• gardening

I'm a couple of days in and so far, so good. What physical practice belongs on your list of commitments this weekend?

Lastly, hold your goals loosely.

• 20 minutes of yoga? Time to celebrate!
• You might narf a piece of lemon cream cake if your daughter wants to get dessert for her family time choice. I don't know anything about that.
• 5-minutes of meditation? Yay you!
• Planting one plant counts as gardening.

See? Easy peasy if you keep your expectations low.

I'm going to hit that yoga mat covered in cat hair right now.

Your calm resilience is more basic and easier than you might think.

To your well-being!

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.