There is something about July – for many people, it starts to feel like the final few miles of a very long race.
“Just get through the next few weeks.”
“Once I get to my holiday, I’ll be fine.”
“Things will calm down soon.”
Phrases I hear a lot and it’s understandable.
End of term.
By July, many of us have already managed six months of work, responsibilities, family commitments, life admin, unexpected problems and everything else that real life throws into the mix.
For parents, the end of term can bring a whole extra layer of things to remember.
School events.
Forms.
Changes to routine.
Planning childcare.
Keeping everyone organised.
Your halfway point.
But even if school holidays aren’t part of your life, July can still feel like a strange halfway point.
Lots of people are trying to finish projects before annual leave. Diaries get squeezed because everyone is working around holidays. There is often a sense of pushing through.
The problem is that we sometimes treat our summer break like a finish line. We tell ourselves we just need to keep going until we get there. But arriving at your time off completely exhausted isn’t always the best way to enjoy it.
Rest is maintenance.
Rest works better as regular maintenance, not emergency repair.
Most of us wouldn’t wait until our phone battery was completely dead before thinking about charging it, yet we often do exactly that with ourselves.
So, before you reach the point where you’re counting down the days, it might be worth asking:
What would make the next few weeks easier?
What can wait?
What am I putting pressure on myself to finish that isn’t actually urgent?
What small thing would help me recharge now?
It doesn’t have to be complicated. In can be something like –
A quieter evening.
An earlier night.
Saying no to something optional.
Moving something on your list.
Taking a proper lunch break.
Small things make a difference
You don’t have to earn rest.
You don’t need to earn your rest by reaching a point of complete exhaustion first. July doesn’t have to be a finish line you crawl towards.
Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is adjust the pace before you get there. One baby step at a time!
