I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty wrung out this morning.
Watching England play Columbia last night was a gruelling experience.
I’m no football expert, but I live with a Liverpool supporter so I’ve been drawn into loving the game, with all its ups and downs. And, when England play, I jump on the bandwagon and back them all the way, with a desperate amount of hope which I know has a high chance of being well and truly dashed.
But, oh, it’s painful to watch, isn’t it? Thank goodness it went our way last night, eventually, but I still had a restless night’s sleep afterwards. With tension and high emotion rolling around in my head, I think I was reliving the penalties over and over again. Jordan Henderson’s was a particularly tense moment in this house, but it all came good in the end.
This morning, I feel more than a little tired and, according to the ‘to do’ list that I wrote out meticulously at the end of yesterday, I’ve got a lot to get through today.
So, how do you have a productive day when you’re self-employed and feeling like you’ve been run over by a truck?
It’s simple – cut yourself some slack, and do some easy stuff. I’m sure that our England team will be having a fairly ‘easy’ day today, so, why shouldn’t we do the same?
Working as a freelance writer, I give myself a hard time when I’m not busy all the time. If I’m not doing work for clients, I’m working on my business constantly, and the list of tasks is endless, because everything is down to me.
I am the CEO as well as the sales & marketing team, the IT department (albeit a slightly shaky one), as well as the finance division, with a little help from an accountant. And that’s not to mention the production crew which actually provides the writing services.
It’s all down to me. It can be overwhelming, not to mention brain stretching, and there tends to be a feeling of guilt if I’m not really ‘on it’ every single day.
However, this morning, I decided that the more difficult tasks on my list will have to wait. There is little point in tackling them today when I’m at half mast. Instead, I have had a slow start to my day, because being self-employed, I can do that. I am the master of my time. That’s why I became self-employed, isn’t it?
I have had an extra cup of coffee and taken my dog Flossie for a leisurely stroll. I have also spent some time chatting to a friend and congratulating them on a new job. It’s important to do these things.
I now feel relaxed and rejuvenated and I’m going to start with the low level jobs on my list. I’ve got some emails to catch up on and some research to do. It is completely ok not to do the more high level tasks today.
I appreciate that if you’re working on something with a tight deadline this might not be feasible, but if you’re not, or it can wait until tomorrow, give yourself a break, do some nice easy tasks and take a little extra time for yourself. Then you’ll be more than ready to take on those big beasts on your list tomorrow.
So, come on England! I’m with you all the way, because now I’ve got a plan for my recovery days.
I can’t have too many though…
Thank goodness the quarter final is on a Saturday 😁
Suzy Pope is a versatile lifestyle writer with a background in PR. If you would like help with a writing project, please get in touch.
