I'm exhausted. I'm tired and achy. My face feels sunburned even though it doesn't look like it is and I'm dying of thirst.
What happened? A big event. Since I live on the West Coast of the U.S.A., yesterday was a big day--our Independence Day.
I volunteer with two groups which together put on a big to-do for the Fourth of July. We had over 2000 people there yesterday, enjoying themselves.
I had fun but it was very tiring. Today I woke up exhausted.
It made me think about the inevitable letdown one often feels after a big event. I have a big event I'm in charge of that goes in less than two weeks time. It is taking up most of my time and energy (what I have of it, that is).
Naturally, after such an event is over, there is the physical and mental exhaustion (I'm feeling that today for an event where I was only a worker, not in charge). But more than that, we've been working on this event for months, and since I lost my job, it has been the main focus of my days.
When it is over, two weeks from today, I may have some mixed feelings about it. Hopefully, I'll be basking in the glory of accomplishment (rather than stewing about its failure) but I'll also be tired and a bit letdown. This has been the main focus of my time--and it will be gone. I'll have to move on to other things (I've been saying, "After the 18th, I'll..." for quite awhile).
Today, I am wondering not only how to make the event a success but how to survive the days that will follow it. Does anyone have tips for picking oneself up and starting fresh after a big event is done and how to manage both the emotional and physical exhaustion which is sure to come from three days of long and difficult work like this?
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Well done for all you did for the Fourth of July event, and hope you're able to take a little time to recover before going back to work on the next one :)
ReplyDeleteMy only tip for dealing with post-event exhaustion is to accept it, and make allowances for it.
Expect to feel physically and mentally tired, perhaps even empty and depressed - these are all natural reactions to completing a big project that's take up a lot of your time and energy. Finishing something like this is a death of a kind, the end of a cycle: it's normal for it to leave a gap, and to need to withdraw and replenish yourself.
Allow yourself to have a week (or two) off, without putting pressure on yourself to start new projects and get busy again too quickly. Let the desire to move on to the next thing come back of its own accord.
Be kind to yourself, take time to celebrate what went well and what you achieved, as well as reflecting on anything that didn't go so well and which you can learn from another time. Perhaps write this down, so you can remember it for another occasion.
Hope the next two weeks go well.
Hey, commenting works on the blog again. Yeah! Astral Cat, thanks for this comment. I'll definitely be keeping it in mind.
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