The day is finally here. You kept your schedule open, you made a plan, you’re ready. All this work just so you can have a day off but you’ve earned it and it’s finally, finally here! You’re planning to disconnect at noon. At 11, your phone rings. It’s one of your dog walkers. They have a flat tire and can’t make it in. You spend some time trying to figure out if you can get a car to them but you can’t. And those dogs still need to pee. You look at your couch, or your hiking shoes, wistfully and get ready to go. If you own a business, or have a family, you can probably relate to this. It can be truly heartbreaking when it happens. You’ve probably heard someone say something like, “Well what would really happen if you just didn’t do it?” And sure, the reality is that in most cases, it’d be OK. It’s not that simple though. Skipping out on clients that are relying on you can have far reaching implications to your reputation. If it’s a real emergency of course people will understand but it’s definitely not something you can do every weekend. We just had two full posts telling you to prioritize yourself and your self care and now I’m here saying that sometimes you have to ditch all your best laid plans and work anyway. I get it. It’s complicated. This post is meant to help you navigate these disappointments and get yourself back on track.
Regardless of the reason, your self care was canceled. Now what? Well, first, get through it. Do the work you need to do and do it well so you don’t have to do it again. Second, be angry. No really. You lost out on something you were looking forward to that you needed. It’s OK to be frustrated and sad about it. Feel that, and then let it go. Don’t dwell on it and harp on it for days but give yourself a few hours, maybe a couple days depending on what you missed out on, and feel it. Finally, make a plan. What did you miss? Was it an afternoon on your couch? Hanging out with friends? A long hike? A concert you were looking forward to? Some of those things are easier to make up for than others. Reschedule the time off. If you don’t have a dedicated manager, ask a trusted friend to cover your phone for you. Put an Out of Office message up and only answer the phone if it’s the trusted friend. Everyone else needs to wait and hopefully your friend can handle whatever comes up on their own or with a quick phone call. Schedule the time again, enjoy it.
If you lost something that’s harder to recover, something that’s time sensitive like concert tickets or a trip. You may not be able to truly make up for it. Hopefully you can move a trip or see your favorite band the next time they’re in town but sometimes, it’s just gone. And that….sucks. It really does, but it happens. I’m not going to tell you everything happens for a reason, that somehow this let down will bring something awesome down the line. It might, it might not. Like I said before, it’s OK to be mad. It’s OK to yell into your pillow, call your bestie and rant at them about it for a little while. Let it out, then let it go. Go to the next thing on your list. Maybe it’s your second favorite band or a short camping trip instead of a full vacation but find something that will suffice and enjoy it. Don’t spend time thinking about how you missed out on your first choice. Know that you have your second choice and that it’s going to be great.
Missing out on your own time is a real drag. It always will be. The trick is trying to plan ahead enough that you get to keep it, and rolling with the punches when you can’t. There will be more time and there will be other options. Make the plan, stay with the plan, redirect when you need to. Don’t let one failed attempt ruin it for the rest of them. You can have your time, but you do have to fight for it.
When did you lose out on something you were looking forward to? How did you recover it? Stay tuned next week for how to manage a business that deals with people’s family members.