It’s so hot - I don’t want to write this article

It’s so hot I don’t even want to write this. But here we are.

That pretty much sums up life this time of year. The heat’s oppressive, the inbox keeps refilling, the text messages stack up, the calendar keeps booking itself, and honestly, people generally get stupider and crazier. As you will see, I just checked all of those boxes.

The heat as me feeling cooked…mentally, emotionally, and physically. So, what did I do, exhausted, run down, and over stimulated on Friday afternoon? After checking on the new F45 Fitness we are building out over in New Riverside Village, I went to the New York Butcher Shop a few units over. I said I was going to get a big fat steak and just eat the whole thing. Plenty of protein and fats for energy. An end of week indulgence. 15 minutes later, I walk out with prepared white lasagna, chicken parm, bacon cheddar dip, and a heath bar brownie. All which by the way, are very, very delicious.

Where did the steak go? I was so exhausted I talked myself into a “Just take a rest and reset,” “Get back to it on Monday,” “Maybe you need more carbs” approach. We convince ourselves the best course of action is to check out completely. Sleep in, skip the workouts, binge a little, scroll a lot, and avoid everything we’re supposed to face. In a moment of exhausted weakness, it’s a pretty amazing game plan.

So, after the incredible meal, after the left overs, after I forced myself to sleep (an extra 20 minutes because I just can’t sleep in anymore) and after I forced myself to ignore anything that represents what work looks and feels like, came Monday. All those problems I was pre-exhausted just thinking about, are still there waiting for me. Now I look back, 8 lbs heavier (that happened quickly), still feeling exhausted, even more stressed, and I did nothing to prepare myself for Monday.

The hard reality is, what I needed wasn’t a reset. What I needed was relief. And those are two different things. A reset assumes, “I’ll stop everything and everything will go away when I get back.” Relief says, “Let me knock out just one thing that will move the needle and lighten the load.” What I needed was a break from the noise and clarity on what to do next.

If I could rewind, I wouldn’t take the whole weekend off. I would have got the steak, gotten to bed sooner, woke up earlier and set my focus before my workout, to figure out “What it is I need clarity on to take the edge off?”

What is the one thing I could have done that would make my Monday lighter and my mind calmer? Maybe it’s having the hard conversation with someone. Maybe it’s getting the last round of revisions out. Maybe it’s planning the week so it’s not a surprise attack on Monday.

Burnout isn’t solved by quitting temporarily. It’s solved by giving yourself clarity, and the space to have it. That’s where I failed on Friday. You don’t need a vacation to feel better, you need a victory. Sometimes that victory is just 20 more minutes of dedicated focus and silence to make everything after that, make way more sense. Remember, it’s not too late. You still have now. That’s exactly what I did. Gave myself the time to get clarity on how exactly I need this week to go.

If you’re reading this, cooked by the heat and mentally fried by others, don’t trick yourself into believing the lie I told myself. That doing nothing will make everything better. Instead, slow down and give yourself the space to look at your entire playing field. Pick the one thing that will take the heat off, then go do it.
Even if it’s writing the article.

Ryan Chowansky is the owner of Bluffton Builders, LLC, www.bluffton.builders.