Feeling fatigued? Want to stay in bed and recharge? See the bags under your eyes despite sleeping 8+ hours?
That could mean a lot of different things but what if it revolved around your work?
Tips to get yourself recharged and energized for work!
- Do not bring work home. As a librarian, reading is part of the job, even if it means previewing a book in case patrons have questions. Sometimes you can feel overwhelmed when it’s the weekend and you’re waiting on confirmation for a program or anxious because you forgot to finish something before closing time. It’s okay. You’re not alone, I need to repeat it every day at closing. For reading, read something you want rather than reading something off your work list.
- Log out of your email. It’s tempting but do not enable work email on your phone or your home computer. Nooooo. Nope. Nada. Keep that at work.
- Stress-less hobby. Rather than saying “mindless”, do something that doesn’t cause you stress. For me it’s playing video games or doodling in my bullet journal. With video games, I need to monitor my stress levels and need to listen to myself when it’s time to quit a game.
- Take a walk. Fresh air, greenery, just walking around outside is a nice change of pace after being cooped up in the office.
- Treat. Your. Self. Finished a program you’ve been planning for 3 months? Treat yourself. Successfully completed a reference transaction? Pat yourself on the back and treat yourself. Got a negative reaction from a situation you could not control? Learn and treat yourself.
- Vacation or Sick Day. Take a mental health day or plan a few months in advanced a couple days to refresh yourself. You need to recharge yourself but do not feel bad that your coworkers are picking up your slack. They’d want you at 100% rather than 25% and unable to provide teamwork. I feel bad calling in sick but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Island Librarian 