On Being Tired at Work This Time of Year
In varying degrees, work can tire you out. From physical labor to desk-bound work - in differing ways - some days may find you practically gasping for breath. Then there are those times when you're in a kind of "tired streak." I'm in one now.
It's not so much that I've got a lot on my plate (I do) or that I'm facing some pressing deadlines (I am), it's the time of year.
Here in the Northeast, we're in a cold spell, having just exited our first significant snowstorm. And it looks like our temperatures will dip even lower going forward, with some small bursts of snowfall thrown in for good measure. Throw in a particularly difficult online course I just finished with and the last couple of weeks have been sucking my last drops of energy each day.
What to do?
Well, on a practical level, I'm cutting the day short. After years of slogging it out, it's finally dawned on me that sometimes it's better to just stop working, rather than spending exhausted hours trying to finish up that last drop of work. So far the world hasn't ended, no clients have been short-changed or disappointed, and the work will get done, if just a few days beyond my ideal deadlines. If the winter cold zaps your energy as just described, and you haven't figured out on your own that taking a breather may be just what the doctor ordered, try it. Then again, maybe you're smarter than I've been and figured this out yourself.
But aside from the practical side, there's the spiritual side of things. Being exhausted physically can easily leave you feeling "spiritually exhausted" too. For me, spiritual exhaustion usually takes the form of my having trouble concentrating when I'm reading Scripture, or spiritual works, or my doctrinal study. I find myself sort of staring at the page with my eyes skimming over words that utterly fail to leave the slightest impression on my brain. Again, over time, I've learned that I need to ease up. This might take the form reading more slowly - like REEEALLY SLOOOWWW - until the words make some sense. Or maybe I mix up what I'm reading. For example, I might just sit with the Psalms, or just a good passage from whatever spiritual work I'm reading at the time. It's something like slipping into a hot bath rather than taking a shower. Slow down, don't rush, be still...whatever it takes to re-engage my mind and heart with God.
In fact, times like this may be the best times to recall and meditate on these fine words of Abbot Marmion:
It's not so much that I've got a lot on my plate (I do) or that I'm facing some pressing deadlines (I am), it's the time of year.
Here in the Northeast, we're in a cold spell, having just exited our first significant snowstorm. And it looks like our temperatures will dip even lower going forward, with some small bursts of snowfall thrown in for good measure. Throw in a particularly difficult online course I just finished with and the last couple of weeks have been sucking my last drops of energy each day.
What to do?
Well, on a practical level, I'm cutting the day short. After years of slogging it out, it's finally dawned on me that sometimes it's better to just stop working, rather than spending exhausted hours trying to finish up that last drop of work. So far the world hasn't ended, no clients have been short-changed or disappointed, and the work will get done, if just a few days beyond my ideal deadlines. If the winter cold zaps your energy as just described, and you haven't figured out on your own that taking a breather may be just what the doctor ordered, try it. Then again, maybe you're smarter than I've been and figured this out yourself.
But aside from the practical side, there's the spiritual side of things. Being exhausted physically can easily leave you feeling "spiritually exhausted" too. For me, spiritual exhaustion usually takes the form of my having trouble concentrating when I'm reading Scripture, or spiritual works, or my doctrinal study. I find myself sort of staring at the page with my eyes skimming over words that utterly fail to leave the slightest impression on my brain. Again, over time, I've learned that I need to ease up. This might take the form reading more slowly - like REEEALLY SLOOOWWW - until the words make some sense. Or maybe I mix up what I'm reading. For example, I might just sit with the Psalms, or just a good passage from whatever spiritual work I'm reading at the time. It's something like slipping into a hot bath rather than taking a shower. Slow down, don't rush, be still...whatever it takes to re-engage my mind and heart with God.
In fact, times like this may be the best times to recall and meditate on these fine words of Abbot Marmion:
“There will never be any peace for you except in the complete abandonment of yourself into the hands of our Heavenly Father. It is always necessary to come back to this point, for our Lord requires of you this testimony of your confidence and love. Each time, then, that you feel troubled and distrustful, you should try quietly by prayer and through union with Jesus to bring your will to this absolute submission, to this complete abandonment of yourself, of your future and of everything into God’s hands.” (Abbot Columba Marmion, O.S.B.)
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