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August 25, 2009
Surviving times of weariness
Text by Ruth Manimtim-Floresca
I have days when I am reluctant to get up in the morning because I know there will be tons of work waiting for me to deal with. I also sometimes wake up feeling tired even if my day is just beginning.
I guess all of us have days like these. How do you perk yourself up? I have found that even a quick prayer could already do wonders to put my mind into a more positive frame. I also make sure to go straight to the kitchen, after washing my face, to make myself a mug of hot chocolate and eat a light breakfast.
After several deep breaths and some stretching, I would find that I do have the strength to face another day of beating my article deadlines, finishing house chores and all the other things in between. I also make certain that I have several five-to-ten-minute breaks (thank you Facebook!) throughout the day to clear my mind in between pressing tasks.
I was glad to get hold of Maloi Malibiran-Salumbides’ book called Standing Tall through Tough Times last month because she has a chapter there called “What to do when you feel tired and low.”
She writes that she also has times when she feels this way and which may be a result of having a lot of commitments that stack up one on top of the other. How I could identify with that! It was thus nice to read about her own techniques to coping with days when one feels really TIRED.
Take time to smell the roses. Literally smell the flowers in your garden whether they are sampaguitas, kalachuchis or any other type of flower. In other words, let us learn to slow down so we can better appreciate the beauty of nature and the other things around us. By taking time to reduce speed, life’s stresses will be minimized even if they can’t be totally wiped out.
Identify the causes of your weariness. Why do you feel tired? Is your schedule overloaded? How about your office workload? How busy is your social life? Find out the causes of your exhaustion and do something about it. When we ignore deep-seated causes and keep on going, we might end up getting totally burned out in the end.
In my recent brushes with overwhelming days, I reached a point where I had to concede that over-booking myself in commitments is a major contributor to my often over-fatigued state. I started to keep telling myself that I have a right to say “No” and cut back on too many obligations.
Rest, rest, and rest. The solution to tiredness is ample rest. But in seeking rest, “we need to decide to disengage for a while,” says Salumbides. We won’t feel recharged if we keep on thinking of the tasks on our list. Take a break for five to fifteen minutes to refresh your brain.
In my case, I try as much as possible to reserve one day each weekend where I could wake up later than usual. This puts me in a more energetic mood come Monday mornings. My hubby, thankfully, readily takes over in taking care of the kids’ needs while I literally get my beauty sleep.
Evaluate your activities and priorities. Learn to order things in such a way that the most important tasks are done first before we tackle other things we formerly labeled as urgent.
For instance, I refrain from replying to personal emails until I have accomplished all the things I have to submit to my editors for the day.
Discover energizing things. According to Salumbides, many times, routine work and activities can zap our energy. “But if you engage into something that’s new, something that is a bit challenging, it helps boost our adrenalin and we become more energetic,” she advises.
“So discover things that are energizing – things that you can be thankful for; things that will cause you to be alive again; things that will cause you to feel refreshed and recharged.”
Sometimes, I play online word games to keep me entertained for a while. I treat them as mind stimulants without the heavy responsibilities that usually accompany my work loads. I also find that watching a funny clip or two in youtube or listening to a couple of upbeat songs can already help lighten the heavy feeling that many duties tend to press on my shoulders.
Salumbides aptly ends the chapter on “What to do when you feel tired and low” with Jesus’ promise in the Bible, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” As someone who also believes in the power of prayer, I thoroughly agree with her.
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