I work my ass off. That is a given. I always have been and always will be a hard worker. However, that blessing carries a heavy burden.
Just over the last three days, I clocked somewhere between 36 and 40 hours of work. That averages out to about 12 to 13 hours a day. This morning I woke up at 3:30am to meet my weekly Friday morning deadline for paperwork. Already exhausted I chugged through it and prepped for three morning meetings and about 2 hours of total travel time.
I pushed through the paperwork and got off to a strong start at my first meeting. I felt fresh and had a cup of coffee to push onward. No major issues.
I drive to my next meeting. Not terrible but I definitely felt myself struggling to muster up certain words. I felt the “sleepy ha-ha’s” catching up to me.
I drove over an hour to my next meeting, and this is where shit hit the fan. A foggy feeling clouded my thinking, making it difficult to speak. My flow felt disorganized and pressured at times. It felt the fight to stay lively through the entire meeting.
I made it through somehow. At the end though, my head pounded, and my eyes grew heavy. It was finally hitting me. Three straight days of nonstop action slammed me like a freight train. I was supposed to still see three more clients that afternoon, but my body had different plans.
Drowsiness settled in, and I knew there was no way in hell I was going to make it another four to six hours. I contacted my clients and rescheduled my appointments.
When I finally got home, I laid in bed for a minute or two, and, then, I was out cold. You could have sworn that I got knocked out by Mike Tyson. I was lights out. Before I knew it, I woke up over three hours later around dinnertime.
Shit. I needed it. My body told me I needed it, and I really did. We need to stay in tune with our bodies and listen to what they are trying to tell us. Could I have pushed forward a few extra hours? Possibly. Would it have been good for my health and well-being? Probably not.
I listened to what my body told me and took responsibility for my health without feeling guilty. Plus, let us be honest. Sleep is magical.
– The Caring Counselor