10 days until opening night!
Fell asleep at our family Xmas dinner.
The turkey was fantastic, if memory serves. 😉
Haven’t been sleeping well at night again as the Exhaustion Monster has actually been keeping me awake.
So many little logistical things to do every day. I seriously need to look into stress management courses next time around. Lol. But that being said these Exhaustion Monster butterflies are also what keep me working hard for FIRST HAND WOMAN.
Rehearsals have been on hold for the “holiday” break and I’m really itching to get back to them. Seriously, I can’t wait. 🙂
I’ve also been very busy over the “holidays” getting the FIRST HAND WOMAN fundraiser ready. We (me, my mom and dad) have been designing some fabulous FIRST HAND WOMAN swag) – Did I mention that my mom is a graphic designer? Go team! Yep, I’m pretty excited get started on 2009.
So, here are the 5 steps to wrestling the exhaustion monster:
1. Have a great support system.
This one is super important. If you have the inclination to push yourself, it’s critical to have people in your life who will tell you to do the things that you’re pushing to the side to accomplish your goals. You know those things. The taking care of yourself things.
2. Stress busters.
Figure out what your stress busters are and actively engage with them. If they aren’t helping, don’t let the stress take you over, find new ways to tackle it. Some ways that I combat the Exhaustion Monster are exercising, meditating and visualizing.
3. Sleep it off.
This may be an obvious one, but there’s a reason why. We perform at our best when we are well rested. Sleep helps keep our minds sharp and our bodies in good health. So instead of pulling that all-nighter, try sleeping all night instead. This may take some discipline. I can have a tough time listening to my internal clock when I have lots on my plate. But I know you can do it! 🙂
4. Take some baby steps, baby.
Yes, that mountain is a big one. Whether it’s a distant dream, a ginormous goal or a looming deadline, the best way to get there is to take things one task at a time. So if you ever suddenly find yourself feeling anxious and overwhelmed, take a moment and remind yourself of the small digestible tasks that you CAN do. And immediately do one of them. And then another. Rinse and repeat.
5. Delegate.
I wrote about this in an earlier blog post, but it’s worth saying it again. As I’m in the midst of learning this lesson in a BIG way. Thankfully my passion is keeping me upright, but I’m sure once this FIRST HAND WOMAN run is done, I’ll crash like nobody’s business. If you have a bunch of tasks on your to-do list that aren’t critical for your special role and that someone else can do, please, delegate.
Okay, I’ve given you some serious weapons to do battle with the Exhaustion Monster. Now I’m going to take some of my own advice and go to bed at a reasonable time tonight.
But first I want YOU to take action. I want you to choose one of these 5 steps and put it to use in your own life. Leave your comments below and let me know how YOU deal with exhaustion, stress and being overwhelmed.
And as always…
Dream up,
Sarah Michelle Brown
FIRST HAND WOMAN Actor, Playwright + Producer
