In my mission to BE the best Dawn I can be, I was profoundly moved by Stacy Brice's post on Virtual Moxie about her top two ways to avoid burnout: doing less and replacing gained time (it really can happen - really!) with personal time.
This second statement really struck a chord with me (more like hit me over the head with a baseball bat). In my previous life (uh, like, last week), if I had extra time because I finished a task early or a meeting was cancelled, I almost always filled that extra space with more work. And I have to admit that there was a sense of glee: "Goody, goody!!!!!! I can get more done!!!!" It's like the poor little hamster on his exercise wheel - maybe the faster he goes, the faster he can .... what? Go more? Yep. That's how I used to operate.
So now, my goal is to take that extra time and use it to do those things that really fulfill me. I've actually successfully done this!!!! Once!!!!!! Last week I had a 10-minute delay in a phone meeting. Instead of filling that time with a quick 10-minute task, I used that time to sew.
I was proud of myself for even thinking of it, and then of course using that time to my advantage. Really and truly, my first thought was, "Goody, goody!!!! Maybe I can get this seam sewn!!!" It actually never occurred to me to do something different.
That shift in your thinking, as I've said before, can be really tough. However, the rewards far outweigh the status quo.
Where do you need to shift?
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