How many different hats do you wear? Is it exhausting switching between them? I HEAR YOU AND I UNDERSTAND. Sorry I didn’t mean to yell at you. I just want it to sink in that you are not alone.
I started writing down all the hats or labels that I wear or have worn over the years just to see them all out on my screen in front of me. And no wonder it feels like a lot.
My Many Hats
Wife
Mother
Daughter
Marketing Director
Essential Oil Educator
Podcast Host
MS Thriver
Hunter
Obstacle Course Racer
Fitness Competitor
The list could go on…
I decided to write this blog post as I’m knee-deep learning this lesson.
Quick Back Story
Last week, our contractors started demolition on our downstairs. We’re renovating and putting in a brand-new ensuite bathroom on our bedroom, re-doing the other bathroom on that floor and expanding our bedroom walk-in closet. I asked one of my best friends if I could work from her house for 3 days and it was such a necessary break for me. I didn’t even realize I needed a different environment for my remote work.
Here’s what a normal work-day looks like in my world since I started my new job in June 2021.
My husband, Mike and I woke up at 4:30 am. I put on a guided meditation for around 10 mins, and do 3 rounds of Wim Hof breathing. After that, I get up and make warm lemon water with a pinch of sea salt, honey and a drop of ginger essential oil. I then go downstairs to the basement and get a 30 min workout in. Since the start of the month, I’ve asked Mike to program my workouts for me so that I don’t have to think about what to do when I get downstairs.
From there, the babies wake up around 6:30 am, so after a quick shower, I immediately switch into mom mode until our nanny arrives at 8 am. I then finish getting ready, sometimes I’ll walk the dogs (if I don’t have a meeting right at 9 am) and then I go into work mode.
Switching Hats Throughout The Day
Throughout the day, I’m constantly wearing different hats. One minute, I might be running upstairs to help calm the dogs who might be reacting to package deliveries. Or running up the stairs to help our nanny with a crying twin or twins.
Additionally, when 5 pm hits, I’m usually just finishing a zoom meeting and then I’m running upstairs to take over for the nanny while my husband finishes cooking dinner. I hadn’t realized that my nervous system is on high alert all the time until I took those 3 days last week to work in a quiet environment. I also hadn’t realized the importance of having transition times. How our commute time before remote work was a perfect example of having a transition time specifically shifting from work mode to mom or wife mode.
How I Will Create Transition Times
I could feel my anxiety rising just explaining my day. It’s been tough to realize that my nervous system is suffering because there are so many positives to how my days are structured.
I love and am grateful for the fact that I get to work from home. I get to see my babies multiple times a day (not just in the morning and in the evening). The twins have their mama home to console them when they wake up from a nap crying. Our dogs are protecting our house. I love and am grateful for all the roles that I have.
AND
I know that I need to figure out how to transition from one role to another so that I’m not feeling frazzled.
So here’s what I’m going to start doing this month to assist with transitioning between roles:
- Listen to at least a 5 min meditation before heading upstairs at the end of my workday.
- Take 3 deep breaths after rushing upstairs before getting back to work.
What other transition habits have worked well for you if you work from home?
You Can’t Wear Multiple Hats At Once
At the end of the day, I can work on transitioning between roles but I still need to remember that I can’t play more than one role at once. The same goes with multi-tasking. Our brain does better when we finish one task and then move on to the next. Being a podcast host, really helped me wrap my mind around this concept of not doing it all. When I have booked podcast recordings in the past I carved out an hour in my day. My podcast recordings are booked into my calendar. Interview questions are prepared ahead of time and then during that time, I’m present. I always turn off my phone. I take a few deep breaths before logging into zoom and then I’m present in the interview. So why can’t I do that with my other hats?
I’m really good at time blocking so that’s not the issue. I just still try to do it all and I’m constantly thinking of all the things that need to be done. I need to remember that I really can’t do it all. And even if I try to do it all I won’t be able to do it well. So I can focus on the hats that I love to wear and then I need to choose which hats I take off and outsource.
I can’t mom, wife, be a personal chef and house cleaner. So I’m not. I’ve asked Mike to take over cooking and so come 4 o’clock he’s in charge of our dinner prep. On the weekends, I catch up on house cleaning chores but I know that my next outsourcing task will be to hire a house cleaner because the time I spend cleaning on the weekend I could be playing with the babies. I need to constantly remember what’s more important to me. I also know I have the financial abundance to outsource it and share our financial wealth with others by providing jobs for others who take much more pleasure in a task or simply need to be supported financially.
How will you remove some of the hats that you’re wearing for your nervous system health?