But it doesn't feel like a Wednesday...

Pressing Play after hitting Pause

This past weekend and Monday have been a blur as I was felled by a mystery illness (I’ll spare you the list of symptoms). Today, I find myself still discombobulated.

It just doesn’t feel like a Wednesday.

Being sick can feel like pressing the pause button on everyday life. While you're on hold, recovering and resting, the world outside continues to charge forward at its usual pace. When you finally hit play again, it’s not surprising to feel out of sync. Emails have piled up, tasks have gone undone, and everyone else has been Accomplishing Things. In the meantime, you were busy impersonating a turnip.

So how do you catch up and regain your rhythm?

Start with a slow transition:

• Acknowledge the disconnect: Don't ignore the feeling of being out of sync. Recognize that your body and mind need time to adjust to being back on “standard” time.
• Embrace the bare minimum: Don't expect to jump straight back into full productivity. Start your day with lighter tasks, gradually build up to more demanding ones, and don’t be afraid to discard what isn’t essential.

Re-establish your routine:

• Stick to regular hours: Try to wake up, start work, and go to bed at your usual times to reset your internal clock. Even if you find yourself feeling just as wiped out after 5 restless hours of sleep as you did after a 12 hour marathon of impersonating a log (or turnip).
• Reconnect with your routine: Gradually re-introduce your usual routines, but be flexible. Don't try to cram everything into your schedule right away. Listen to your body and adjust your routine as needed. This is a reminder to myself as much as it is advice to you, Dear Reader.

Communicate, communicate, communicate:

• Update your people: Let them know you're back but might still need time to catch up. Transparency can help manage expectations. I had to reschedule several meetings on Monday and shouldn’t have rushed to say “I’m back!” before I was completely well and caught up.
• Ask for help: If you're overwhelmed, ask for help or delegate tasks.

Reflect and learn:

• Reflect on the experience: Use this as an opportunity to think about your work-life balance and health priorities.
• Plan for future disruptions: Consider how you can better prepare for unexpected breaks in the future.

Returning to work after being sick can feel like stepping back into a movie that's been playing without you. It's disorienting and challenging, but with a gradual approach, focus on kindness, and embracing the bare minimum, you can transition back into your rhythm and maybe even make some much-needed changes.

Just remind yourself that tomorrow is, indeed, Thursday.

3 Things

• I don’t have Spotify, but as a consolation prize, I got a (non-personalized) wrap-up of most popular Wikipedia articles of 2023. You’ll be stunned to hear that the English-speaking world went wild for ChatGPT.
• This is why we can’t have nice things: apparently even much lauded Substack has a slight Nazi problem.
• This is more of an “I hope it doesn’t backfire” accountability check-in: I’m finishing up recording my new Calendly 101 course and will be tackling Google Workspace 101 next. What should be #3 on my list? Weigh in if you’ve read this far!