Business & Creative Burnout
September 2022 Head, Hands, Heart
About this photo:
A year ago we were sitting in our new office and shop space painting the walls and a year later we have closed our business got the opportunity of a lifetime!
You can read more about the career changes and why I was at peace with closing down here.
Now onto the growing favorite monthly newsletter, where we round up the happenings in my life.
By the way…would you like to start seeing round up newsletters for relevant news, studies, etc?
Head
I finally made up my mind and replaced my Nook device with an upgrade which means I’m back to reading more and scrolling less (a big win!).
I’m still working my way through the wonderfully dense book (business) but here is what else I’ve been reading.
To review, I closed my business and have started a new position with another detailing company.
This means we will be opening their second location in the spring and it also means I am building a new role that feels like it’s being chiseled into creation with every passing day.
Overall, the work I’ve already been doing before stepping into the office is a lot of project management and that is a skill I need to level up in! Now that I’m on location, my big project list is overwhelming as I spearhead the creation of new company systems, processes, and training programs.
This is a book recommended to me that I will write about as soon as I get more completed.
Stay tuned for that review, especially if you manage projects (I’m confident there will be relevance for the mothers not stepping into offices since we are the queens of multitasking!)
Second on the list of reading has been this beautiful book by my internet friend, Gauri. Her journey has been incredible to witness and this ebook is a testimony to her ongoing journey with burnout and creativity.
If you don’t have time to read it she has an audio version AND a podcast that I’ve probably listened to a total of six times. I find it more of a meditation than a podcast episode. It’s a little slice of peace for my life.
https://www.gauriyardi.com
Hands
The idea of moving into a new career is both exciting and anxiety-riddled for me. One of the things I’ve been trying to accomplish is minimizing micro-decisions in my life.
Micro-decisions are basically small decisions that don’t require much stress alone but as the day goes on and their amount increases they become depleting. For myself it’s the daily mental decline from repeatedly deciding: meals, parenting tasks, etc.
What’s for breakfast? Who should go get ready next?
Does anything need packed? Where is my lunch for the day?
Is my daughter dressed? Who is taking her to daycare?
Where are my keys?
… In the first three hours of the day I can feel mentally drained!
To combat a small portion of this, I spent time rethinking meal prep. The most consistent things I cook every Sunday are shredded chicken in the pressure cooker and a soup. Everything else is thinking about what that chicken can be used for or what snacks I can buy in bulk and bag myself.
There’s nothing new or brilliant with this method of prep cooking but it’s a noteworthy effort for me in micro-decisions being minimal.
Heart
Two things can exist and be pursued simultaneously even if they seem to contradict one another.
It’s a concept my current business read has researched extensively and I think that it also applies outside that realm of work. For me it applies in my life as a Christian as well.
Too often do I approach the Bible like a college textbook; something that needs to have an objective for my mental sharpness instead of shaping my heart. I think the Bible does give me mental benefits in ways a lot of academia may not agree with (their loss).
But if I only focus on the learning aspect of studying scripture like a student then I will never let my heart be opened to the true life changing tenderness of the Gospel.
…This brief conclusion may not hit home to anyone but it really has been pressing on my heart lately. Whether I’m in leader mode at work or trying to model faith for my family, I hope God guides me to come to his table humbly.
Until next time,
Chanel Riggle
