The New Corner Office: When you hit the wall

Ease transitions, and pump yourself up for the workday

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
new world of work, where location and hours are more
flexible than in the past. Today's tip is about what
to do when you hit the wall and feel you
can't press on. Except that this is normal, pace yourself

(00:28):
and visualize the accomplishment ahead. You may have heard about
the so called wall that marathoners hit around mile to eighteen.
Your body is exhausted, your mind is fuzzy, and your
determination to finish the race is flagging. You've run for
a long time, but you still have a long ways
to go. You have to find a way to keep

(00:48):
putting one foot in front of the other. Six months
into life during a pandemic, a lot of people are
hitting the wall. We are exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally.
Seems hard, and so much is uncertain with no obvious
end in sight. Still, we have to keep going day
after day, and so on those days when you hit

(01:10):
the wall. Except that it's normal, what we are experiencing
right now is hard. The demands on us have increased simultaneously.
Many of our usual restorative practices are less available, whether
that's exercising at the gym, socializing with friends, or going
to church or temple. Of course we're worn out. It's natural, inevitable.

(01:33):
Accept that. No need to feel guilty or embarrassed. It's
just where we are, and no one expects perkiness at
mile eighteen. So what can we do? For one thing,
we can pace ourselves. Don't set unrealistically high goals. Instead
set attainable ones. In a race, you might just get

(01:54):
through to the next water station or even the next
light post. And when you reach your goals, give yourself
permission to rest for a bit if you want to.
And the one marathon I ran I spent a lot
of time walking after mile eighteen. Slow is good Over
the long term, steady work at a sustainable pace is
better than a sprint followed by utter depletion. Another thing

(02:17):
we can do is visualize our victories to come. No,
not necessarily the end of the pandemic, though we do
all hope that will come soon. Rather visualize these small
accomplishments you'll achieve in the meantime. That project you'll complete,
the article you'll write, the pitch you'll prepare when you
feel you can't work another moment, imagine the work done,

(02:39):
and find the motivation to intuate just a little bit
closer to completion. At the beginning of the pandemic and
remote work, you may have decided that you are going
to be the employee of the year master French pastries,
become fluent and Spanish and so forth. If you did
any of those things, that's awesome, But if you didn't,
that's okay too. It's worth considering that every marathon finisher

(03:01):
gets a metal. You don't have to finish in first place.
You don't even have to get a personal best. Getting
it done is accomplishment enough. So on those days when
you hit the wall, remember that marathon finisher metal. It's
normal if you feel worn out, but things will get better.
This will be over at some point. For now, just

(03:24):
keep putting one foot in front of the other. In
the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's
to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New Corner
Office is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, visit
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

(03:47):
favorite shows.