Shut Down Anyway

I was closing down my computer earlier this week after a very long and very busy day. There were several programs running, multiple screens open (I’m embarrassed to tell you how many), documents everywhere and outlook appointments half sent. I’m pretty sure that every program on the machine was open.?Can you picture what this looked like? I was pretty tired and I just wanted to shut down, put it away and come back fresh the next day.?

As I was waiting for the machine to run through its cycle, the little box popped up that said “you have X programs open, wait to shut down or shut down anyway?”. I was so exhausted, it took me a fraction of a second to click “shut down anyway” and just walk away from the day.

I knew that hitting that button might result in some lost work. But I hit it anyway.?I simply had no energy left to rename, save or file away what I was working on and I knew that walking away and coming back refreshed the next day, I could handle any lost document or work that went missing.?I needed the break more than I needed to finish the job.

This got me thinking about all the time off I had planned for this summer. Time I had planned for, scheduled, notified, covered, etc. Time and plans I then abandoned because I decided I simply couldn’t be away, because I had things pop up and because I had to GET IT DONE.

Time to call myself out.

What if, rather than barrel through my never ending to-do list and pseudo emergencies that popped up, I had “shut down anyway”? Just shut it down. Stuck to my plan. Took the time.

?What would have happened?

Here’s what would have happened. My team would have covered as planned, I would have enjoyed the down time with friends and family, I would have honored my own boundaries and come back relaxed, refreshed and ready to tackle whatever came my way.

As we head into the last few weeks of summer, when can you "shut down anyway"? What’s on your summer list that you haven’t gotten to yet? Maybe it’s a sunrise, a walk on the beach, an ice cream from your favorite summer shack or a lobster roll?

We only have a few weeks left to enjoy summer's slow pace and you can learn from my mistake. Take the time. Enjoy the season. Shut down anyway. I know I will!

My new podcast is live and this episode talks more about boundaries at home and at work, and having the grace to honor your own choices.

Who's with me?