My January 16, 2020 blogpost had me in stitches as I packed for my 1-week vacation last week. I just couldn’t stop laughing. It was entitled:
“Want to have a great 2020? Make sure to schedule your “ebb time” now!
Little did I know that most of 2020 would be ebb time. I wrote then:
“We often speak of the ebb and flow of life, using the imagery of ocean waves crashing ashore and pulling back with a rhythm that soothes and hypnotises, depending on the ferocity of the wave of course – there’s no soothing with a tsunami! As a child growing up in Jamaica, spending many a day at the beach, I observed that the greater the ebb, the more powerful the incoming flow. We children knew to prepare ourselves for a huge wave when we experienced a strong ebb. What fun it was to ride those big waves, and to relax in the ebb!
Observing how we work however, and listening to my clients’ complaints about overwhelm, having to be “on” all the time, ever-increasing workloads, limited vacation time, long hours, etc. it occurs to me that there’s little ebb and flow in the workplace – it’s all flow, or even, flood. Just like the ocean, this is impossible to maintain. At some point there must be an ebb which typically shows up as stress, burnout, illness or worse.”
I went on to share 7 things to do to make sure ebb time (i.e. vacation time) happened regularly in 2020. All of them seem null and void now. But this question still lurks, perhaps now more than ever:
“So what can we do to have our lives ebb and flow at work, so that we can garner the energy of the ebb to create greater flow?”
The seas continue to be choppy and turbulent, and are likely to continue to be so for a long time. But if we can find safe harbour, we can weather this extended storm. It’s not too late to schedule regular ebb time for the rest of 2020.
Here’s my “to do” list from January, and updated suggestions:
- Grab your 2020 calendar right now! Get a year-at-a-glance if you can. Here’s a site that offers free downloads: calendarlabs.com;
UPDATE: Get a 2021 calendar as well – never too early to plan! - Highlight key dates in colour – your birthday, your loved ones’ birthdays, anniversaries, public holidays – any special days of celebration that you plan to take off;
UPDATE: Hopefully you did this in January for the entire year. Review to see if there’s anything important you have left off or need to adjust. - Make a list of where and how you want to spend your vacation this year. Block out those dates in your calendar;
UPDATE: Don’t throw away the list! There’s life after COVID. In the meantime, think of places close to home which are still accessible to you – staycation time! - Highlight any fixed work travel dates e.g. conferences and consider adding a few days before or after to “ebb”. For example, I am planning to attend a facilitator’s conference in Sweden in October. Having never been to Sweden, I will arrive a few days earlier to spend some ebb time in this country that has such a reputation for high quality of life!
UPDATE: Even if travel and conferences are postponed, keep the time you had blocked out to do other things (see #3 above). NB: the Swedish conference is postponed, so I will be doing an Ontario vacation instead. - Apply for your vacation leave – note that you will have to be flexible as your co-workers also need their ebb time. But the earlier you book, the better;
UPDATE: Hopefully you didn’t cancel your vacay leave. If you did, make sure to rebook it. You need it now more than ever. - Now, look at your calendar and see where you have long periods with no ebb – what can you insert there? A long weekend? A few days off midweek?
UPDATE: Do this with fresh eyes – you need it now more than ever. - Call your travel agent!
UPDATE: At least call them to say hello, enquire how they are doing, and let them know you are thinking about them. They may also have some ideas for local vacations, so do give them the business if you can. This is how we build back our economies – and take care of each other.
This pandemic will end. Things will get better. Take these steps now to garner the energy of the ebb to ensure you are ready and able to create the greater flow that’s to come.
My January 16 blog:
Want to have a great 2020? Make sure to schedule your “ebb time” now
My blog on Hope:
How to keep Hope alive, and why you should, even when things seem hopeless
