It was going to be a bad week.
I had already been preparing for a major work event since the end of December, but then things kept piling up into the same 4 days. My main focus was a huge meeting that I needed to run and had been spending most of my time prepping for, including the weekends. Add in a few tough conversations, two dentist appointments, a post due, and a 4-year-old in a bad phase; I felt stressed out and I hadn’t even started yet!
Sunday night, I knew my bad week awaited and I was a wreck. About 4 stress zits made an appearance, and was completely unsure how I was going to do it all and not lose my cool.
Do you have days or weeks like this, where it seems like everything is piling up, and you can’t wait to be done with it all?
I needed to find a way to take control.
First step:
Move everything out of the week that I didn’t need to do. Cancel or move meetings to the next week; ask my husband to do pick up/drop off; clean on Sunday so I didn’t feel that pressure through the week. Those are things that were easy to move and got me an extra 5-8 hours during the week.
Second step:
Figure out where my workouts fit. I knew if I had to get through the week, 5 AM workouts were the only way to keep my schedule clear and allow myself to produce some natural serotonin to stay positive. Maybe this looks different to you, like alone time or time with your friends. Whatever it is that makes you feel better, make time for it during a bad week you know you won’t be feeling great.
Third step:
Set a reward for myself to get through it all. We do this with our kids and call it bribery, but in reality, it’s a fun way to reward ourselves for good behavior and can be implemented anytime. Taking a day off, grabbing a coffee, or scheduling some self-care can be set days or months in advance. My reward was to leave work a little early on Friday and go get drinks with a close friend.
On top of those steps, I knew I needed to practice patience! My mind would be elsewhere throughout the week, and I needed to give myself a break. I wouldn’t be as quick on email responses or completely involved with my family. But, I knew it was temporary and allowed myself to get by without beating myself up.
I have a theory that aligns with this.
Do you ever have an interaction with someone that you think, how in the heck is this real? Bad drivers or rude people in a store completely oblivious to those around them? My theory is that they are having a bad week or a bad day and their mind just isn’t there. This could have easily been me that week. Who knows how many cars I cut off! Be patient with those around you, and ask for patience from them.
We are expected to do a lot already. When we add extra tasks, it’s bound to make us feel like we’re headed over the edge.
In the end, we are going to have bad weeks – that’s a guarantee. They aren’t fun, and you may not even realize it’s a bad week until it’s upon you. Take control and navigate your way through the week. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Because guess what? You can do this!
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