Reduce, Rework, Recover
On Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to attend an event at the Park Theatre: the premiere of the documentary “Fresh, the Movie”, followed by a panel discussion of four local farmers.
Nicole and I both attended as representatives of The Food Label Movement. It was great to see that the event was sold out, with a line-up outside the door of people trying to get in. It’s so invigorating to speak with other people, consumers and farmers alike, who are interested in eating well!
There was one line that really stood out for me in the documentary:
Americans only fear one thing: inconvenience.
This really resonated with me. For myself, however, I find that it is often the opposite: I am terrified of convenience. How else would I have wound up with a condo at the age of 21? Why else would I partake in ridiculously intense exercise and nutrition challenges? If something is too easy, I get scared. I like a challenge because it’s more stimulating; it’s more meaningful.
Yes: I am a workaholic. I deliberately take on new jobs and hobbies, to the point that I bite off more than I can chew (not literally). And on Wednesday evening right before this event, it all became too overwhelming. I’ve become really burned out over the past few months, because there’s always! so! much! to! do!
I called the sistertraveller in tears (because sisters can fix anything). After talking to her, walking for a couple of hours, and attending the local food event, I decided to take her advice and cut back on the amount of work that I’ve given myself.
[Side note: I generally run off of energy and steam (again, not literally) for a solid few months, then I feel overwhelmed and exhausted for a day, re-tweak how I do things, and am alive with bundles of energy the following day. That’s just kinda how I roll. It’s a scenario of running along at a fast pace, then tripping, complaining about a bruise, and then running along again at breakneck speed. Whee! So bear with me while I pick myself up.]
The strategies I’m employing are the new and improved three R’s of reducing, reworking, and recovering to organize myself a little better and to become less afraid of convenience:
1) Reduce: I’m reducing my workload. Mortgages, property taxes, and condo fees must be paid, so I am of course keeping all of my paid gigs (and luckily I really enjoy my jobs). But this means that my extra little side projects (read: non-paid) need to be cut down substantially.
I’ve decided to stop writing my weekly Living Well health column for The Uniter. I loved writing the column for the past two years, but it is a volunteer service and I already get the chance to write about health on a tri-weekly basis here at Living Healthy in the Real World. Writing for the newspaper was a fun experience but it’s time to let go of it. I agreed with my editor to write my column until the end of December, and then I’m done.
2) Rework: I’m reworking my current state of affairs to make life a little bit more convenient for myself. This is primarily related to how I self-medicate with food. I can tackle challenges no problem and take on piles of extra work because if it all becomes too stressful, I simply channel my stress toward my eating habits. If I have food around, I can keep working no problem. This would also be a major reason for why the poundage is so difficult to get off.
I don’t want to give myself a label anymore. I don’t want to be “mostly vegan” or “attempting to eat a high-raw diet” or a “locavore” or anything like that. There are too many assumptions attached to each of these labels and, quite frankly, too much pressure once you give yourself one of these labels to adhere strictly to that way of eating.
No doubt I’ll still be dabbling in different kinds of eating – a friend of mine is intolerant to gluten and I wouldn’t mind learning more about gluten and sensitivities associated with it, for example – but I don’t want there to be too much pressure or restriction just at present. I think I need a daily (hourly?) reminder to listen to my body because it knows best.
3) Recover: I’m going to let myself take a break – not only once every few months when I get overwhelmed or when I catch a cold, but a scheduled break, the same way that we ought to take rest days from intense physical training. This might mean that I’ll cut down to writing two blog posts per week at Living Healthy instead of three for a little while.
It will also mean that I’ll be taking a proper rest day every Sunday. Recently a client at the vet clinic was reminiscing about how everything used to be closed on Sundays, and people would spend the day with their families or “puttering” around the house. I had been adopting that strategy for the first couple months when I moved into my condo, but lately that has shifted and my living space has become cluttered as I fill the day or feel guilty about taking a break. The weekdays can get pretty hectic, so I think that stopping for a break would be a very healthy thing to do indeed once a week. We need to take time to collect our thoughts in order to be more productive over the long term.
What about you? Do you also have a need to adopt strategies to organize yourself when things get a little overwhelming? Have you heard of Fresh, the Movie? What are your thoughts on food labels attached to people? Are you afraid of convenience or inconvenience? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
I got very overwhelmed with the whole blogging thing recently, and had decided to give it up — huge time bandit, zero return. Went for a drive into the redwoods and up the Oregon coast for five days for some no brain time — no radio, no music, just thoughts, rain, and natural beauty. Came to the conclusion that Facebook and Blog would be killed on my return.
Came home to a long and heartfelt letter from a reader who thanked me for making such a difference in my life through my blog. My new strategy? Wait till I get overwhelmed again, and then kill them.
Hehe. I know what you mean. Sometimes it just seems like too much work.
But at the same time, there’s NOT zero return, right? You wouldn’t have met awesome people like ME if you’d never gotten into blogging! 😉
But in all seriousness, I really do think that there’s something very special about the blogosphere. We can always take mini breaks or reduce the frequency of posts to make it more manageable! Bloggers devote lots of time to the online community and to writing – and there’s a reason why we do it. Because it’s awesome.
Had not heard of this movie but I loved the quote!!!! Need to do a post on that! 😉
Loved your post as well. Sounds like you needed this & the changes you will be making & I think many of us can adopt some of those!!!!
I don’t mind that people eat a certain way.. all I ask is they respect what I do & I will respect what they do…. I certainly understand some of it & for others, it is a health thing & they have to do it but not everybody is the same so we need to respect that. Glad you are getting that stress off you!
It all sounds great for you Sagan!!!! Can’t wait to hear how you feel in a few months.. of course we have the holidays coming up so you will need this! 🙂
You’re such a sweetheart, Jody.
“all I ask is they respect what I do & I will respect what they do”
“not everybody is the same so we need to respect that.”
Very true!
I could of wrote this myself. I have so many things to get done this weekend my head is spinning and I feel like a heavy weight is sitting on top of my head. My break comes on Monday. And I have been re-thinking things too – changes are coming for me after the holidays.
Aw I’m sorry to hear that your head is spinning and all Reeni. Sometimes the blogging and such gets intense.
PS I sincerely love your blog. And I can’t remember if I told you before or not, but I made your taco lasagna for a dinner party one time and it ROCKED. You have tasty creations!
The urban garden sounds amazing. That would be a great thing to be a part of.
I have found that things I want are worth the time. Being more busy has helped point ot to me the things that actually matter. I am still amused at the people I work for who are not…they tell me they wish they would have healthy salads and lunches to eat, but there’s too much chiopping involved. Wierd. I figure I’m worth getting up 10 minutes earlier for 🙂