Seriously. Someone with as many planners as I have should not feel disoriented in time, but here we are.
I mean, I *know* what day it is. I just have to think about it kind of hard each time I start planning for what is coming up. There is something about the weeks varying so much that plays with my sense of time.
I was texting my parents/sister something like “hey, what should we do on the 4th?” and then realized that my question was about TOMORROW. Ha. I am looking forward to the trip!! This is the THIRD consecutive year I’ve been in Philadelphia with the kids (2022, 2023). There will probably be a Zoo venture, LOTS of cousin time (excited of G to hang with M – she is closer to G’s age than A/C!), and some live recording + fun with Laura. As a bonus, I’ll get to run in something like ~72F with 90% humidity instead of 80F and 90% humidity! Not a HUUUUUGE upgrade, but still preferable.
I also wanted to share a note that I have shared 39434 times before because maybe someday I will learn from myself: I. Am. Always. Tired. After. Call!!!! I assign myself things for the Tuesday after call because (logically) there are things to be done that backed up during call. But I never take my post-call brain and body into consideration and generally feel disappointed.
I got a few things done (but not everything) and then actually took the weirdest-timed nap ever at 5:30 pm because every cell in my body was begging for one. At one point I thought I might be getting sick, but nope. I’m 100% fine today. It’s just the feeling of post-call.
NOT NEXT TIME THOUGH:
Simple but should be effective. I will think really hard before I put much of anything in that slot 🙂
13 Comments
It’s too bad your trip or the weather weren’t shifted by a couple of days! It was 60 degrees at my house outside NYC this morning when I set out on my run at 8 am.
oh I KNOW! But then I told myself — I got good weather for my marathon when it mattered. CANNOT really complain about a random 4 day weekend in July!!
What a great idea to put a note to your future self! I need to do this after work trips, big deadlines etc, because these are what makes me tired and non-productive the day after. Glad you are recovered now. Also, I took a couple of hours yesterday afternoon and did a mid-year planning mini-retreat, just like you suggested. It was so helpful and fun!
I’m so happy you did one!!! So great!
I always get inspired to plan when I read your post. You make me think of things I need to think of.
Aww thank you!!
Planning things in is shockingly effective. Somehow we seem to only write down the concrete to-do’s but more fluid needs can easily get overlooked.
Simple but genius, Sarah!
I always am completely wiped out after a business trip, which happens around 7-10x/year, about half of them international. It’s taken me years to recognize that I need the day after to completely recover: after unpacking my bag I just do nothing. Not even laundry. If I can read a page in a magazine that’s something, but usually I just binge watch a favorite old TV show and call it a win. Now I preschedule them at the same time I plan the trip so that I don’t even have to think about it, and my team knows not to expect me at all on that day.
Ooh, have a great trip! I know what you mean about being disoriented- especially this week. I think it’s where the 4th fell- I keep thinking tomorrow’s Monday. Anyway, enjoy those cool(er) runs!
At my institution technically our post call days are off, but we are also told explicitly that we should do work on post call days (“Why not just do your PALS recertification/work on that manuscript post call?”), which leadership will vehemently deny if asked, but then they do it again. Fun! It is truly soul sucking. I have been quiet quitting this aspect of my job for the past 9 months, and planning nothing / non-strenuous exercise, both of which somewhat ameliorate my level of post-call despair. Vegetating in front of the tv is also helpful. I just wish call wasn’t 24h three times per month, and that it didn’t take me 3-7 days to recover from each one.
That totally sucks and would really bother me too. My call is obviously very different in that I’m not up for 168 continuous hours but I am the same in that it takes days to fully recover and also to pick up the pieces of my life that got neglected over the prior week.
Girl, yes. We had to do your sort of call when we were on pain for a week at a time… it was soooooo much worse.
I swear, writing things down is so, so helpful 🙂 Enjoy the 4th of July!