Perhaps this isn’t really Part II, but this would certainly be included in anything I would write on the subject.
Also, I want to say that I really appreciate everyone’s supportive emails and comments. The area around the topic is kind of a emotional lightning rod for me, however, so I’m sorry I wasn’t able to address you all individually. Also, I’ve not abandoned the topic I’m just still working it out and working on it slowly when I have the emotional energy to tackle it.
Getting Things Done in Academia is a great site, by the way, and if you’re not reading it you should be.
At the beginning of each semester, I have an invisible day on my calender. (I also have an invisible wombat named “Sparky”, but that’s neither here nor there). This invisible day will only make itself known when the alarm goes off. It will be a day when my body arises from bed with great reluctance, when my motivation level is set to “-11?, and when the accrued days of happy toil have left me empty. Not physically sick. Just empty.
That is my mental health day.
On mental health days I call in sick and send the appropriate short emails. Then I relax and make myself a cup of coffee. I read a magazine. I watch some Oprah.
I allow myself one Mental Health Day a semester.
As to the particular issue in the link, I find in my own experience that a balanced life is a very solid way to avoiding the hole I fell into. It’s important to keep a “middle path” between work and relaxation. And mental health days? Absolutely necessary. The rest of the world (hah) may use a Monday through Friday, 9-5 way of being but that doesn’t mean your body does. And we all know what kind of things excessive stress can cause, so take these words to heart.
3 ways to overcome life out of balance « Getting Things Done in Academia
No Comments on "Recovering From a Fall, Part II"