Yesterday I started feeling cookie dough and When Harry Met Sally coming on really strong. It’s suddenly that time of year. Fall weather, low energy, and I’m so tired, all I want to do is go home early, get into my nighty, and watch my favorite chick flick with a fresh batch of cookie dough. For a person as Type A and all over the map as myself--and a lot of women I know--it’s amazing to recognize the value of calling it quits. It took me my whole life to learn how to slow down in a healthy, generative way.
When you’re busy fulfilling the urge to be everyone’s everything all the time, there something incredibly restoring to closing the door, waving the white flag, and being unproductive. We have to stop. There just comes a time when we need to grind everything to a halt and refill our reserves. Sure, we are busy, successful single women and married, moms, family show runners, and go-getters. But, there’s beauty in knowing when NOT to be on top of it. Even better, there’s elegance in having a system that incorporates down time.
The jokes in my circle are that Erin is a whirling force of energy that doesn’t stop. My personal joke is that I can be manic in the world because I have a policy of being in my nighty by 4:30 every day. It’s a system that works with my body and my brain that keeps me both a sane and healthy mom, and a productive, imaginative business owner. What is your natural rhythm? When you know, you can sway with it, and get the most out of your uptime by getting the most out of your down time.
Three Keys to Getting Down
1. Don’t just unwind. Go out for the count.
When I get home, I become unavailable to everyone but my family. I’m in my nighty, snuggling with my kids and doing puzzles by the fire, so that I can wake up tomorrow at 7 a.m. and be on till I can get into my nighty again. When I am up, I am on. When I am down, I am unplugged, unwound all the way, and refilling for the next work day.
