Today is the fifth day of the year and the first Monday of the first full work week of 2015. Although I didn't take much time off over the holidays this year, I enjoyed the slower pace of my work days and in particular, I enjoyed the sound of my phone not ringing off the hook. The enjoyment was short-lived, however, as everyone returned to work today full of piss and vinegar and ready to tackle 2015. I’m no different, except that I find myself sitting at MSP airport this afternoon, waiting for a flight to Philadelphia that will get me to my final destination somewhere around 10 PM.
I like to take a few moments every morning to review my calendar for the day – and on Mondays, I take a few extra moments to review the week in its entirety. Not only does this help me get organized and plan for what’s coming, it also helps me figure out how horrified I should feel about the week at any given moment. Today’s calendar scan revealed the introvert’s worst nightmare; 12 hours of meetings followed by a “business dinner”. Translation: leave my hotel at 7 AM ET (which feels like 6 AM to my body, since I operate on central time), hopefully pop into my local Starbucks for motivation in a cardboard cup, and then a full day of nodding, smiling, and pretending to be super-interested in every person and idea that crosses my path. Exhausting only begins to describe the very special form of torture this is to my inner introvert.
I’m doubly cursed, as you now know, since I am both an introvert and queen of shoulding all over myself. When I travel for work, I always have these big ideas that I’ll work out in the hotel fitness center every day; eat healthy; catch up on my sleep; and tackle big terrible work projects with ease. This invariably leads to both over-packing and extreme stress, since I never have time to do any of these things and I wind up beating myself up for failing to do what I believe I should. How might this time be different?
Give Up
I’m giving up on the idea of working out today. Barring any flight delays (and as a side note, I have the worst travel karma in the world, so there will be some type of delay), luggage mishap, or rental car debacle, the very earliest I might arrive at my hotel is 10 PM ET, at which point I expect to be hungry like the wolf, exhausted to the point of tears, and depressed to realize that I have to be up and at ‘em in less than eight hours. Cardio is so not going to happen. I’m giving up the dream and I’ve giving myself permission to take the day off. In fact, I’m forced to give myself permission to take tomorrow off as well, since the marathon meeting and forced fun afterward means another 15 hour day.
Just because I’m giving up on cardio for the next 48 hours doesn’t mean I’m destined to be a big, fat, unfit loser. I’m just being realistic and shutting down the shoulds. You know what? It feels good.
Give In
While I might be complaining a bit about traveling and a bit more about all the meetings and how busy my schedule is, I prefer busy and gainfully employed to the alternate. Since these meetings are going to happen whether I wake up on the extroverted side of the bed tomorrow or not, I am giving in and committing to full participation and engagement. This is a great opportunity to meet face-to-face with key business leaders, get our 2015 strategic plan and tactics underway, and I get the entire bed to myself for three nights. I love my husband and I love my pets – but I will enjoy not having Carl the cat wrapping himself around my throat and choking me while I slumber.
What this also means is giving up on the idea that I’ll make progress on this paper I must write for work. The due date is fast approaching but it’s simply not realistic to think that I’ll make progress on it while I’m in Philadelphia. So instead of shoulding all over myself, I simply gave in and scheduled time on my calendar to work on the paper this weekend. I did the same thing with project passport renewal, and I’ve got time blocked on Tuesday the 13th to tackle this “should do” item. Check back in with me next week for a progress report.
Give It My All
Just because I’m away from home, in meetings, and my routine is thrown off doesn’t mean that I am giving myself a free pass on the food/eating/nutrition front. While I recognize that it may be difficult to eat healthy while I’m on the road, I am giving MyFitnessPal my all. Every morsel that passes my lips will be tracked and recorded, and I will do my very best to stay on track. While this may not sound like giving it my all, I assure you, it is. There is a high degree of likelihood that I will wind up stuffing my face with salt, fat, sugar and grease while I’m away from home. In the past, when I’ve . . . uh . . . overindulged, I’ve abandoned MyFitnessPal like I abandoned leg-warmers and acid washed jeans. This time will be different. No matter what I eat, no matter how bad it is, no matter how much negative feedback MyFitnessPal gives me under the guise of motivation, I will not give up my four day tracking spree. I am in it to win it.
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