Reaching your limits isn't the same as complete failure

It takes strength to admit you're burning out

Let me start with an admission: I had a recent and very rare moment of feeling a little bit overwhelmed.

To get the conclusion to this post out of the way right from the outset – cutting back on some projects and talking it through helped.

But context is everything and in the interest of being transparent, as I explained from the start of this writing adventure, here’s why.

When it all comes crashing down

If you know me well, you might be surprised to know that things ‘getting to me’ aren’t my style.

I’m driven and focused in a crisis, I think calmly under pressure, and I’m relaxed about almost everything… except when dealing with a certain football team.

However, recent events meant I had a brainful.

It all starts with the subheading of this section as we had a house disaster. We cut short a half-term family holiday following a major house leak which destroyed our lounge and a lot of fixtures and fittings.

(We are thankfully now nearly back to normal).

Clearly, sub-optimal!

An extra, unexpected thing to deal with on top of normality – which, as it turns out, wasn’t quite as normal as I thought it was.

When your plates pile up

Now, bearing in mind an interrupted holiday and the house situation, it hit me with the alarming realisation that I’m still only a few months into a new job.

Yes, I’m back at Tank where I’ve worked before – and loving it – but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to face any adjustments or learning curves. In many instances, these learning curves were actually re-learning curves as I once again got back into the swing of agency life.

In fact, I probably glossed over some of this too quickly. I was so comfortable settling back in with old colleagues, getting to know new ones and engaging with clients, that I’d not given enough attention to the fact that it’s a new job – irrespective of the fact that I’d worked here before.

To try and be slightly profound – just because the scenery is the same, doesn’t mean the experience will be.

This is also a role that is new for the business as much as it’s new for me too – lots of newness!

All of this coincided with the launch of the service I’m responsible for and the efforts to get that live in the first place – alongside an exciting but slightly last-minute client visit with an overnight stay.

Oh, and have I mentioned I’m also married with kids?!

This all culminated one morning – when I was driving to work – with a dose of “woah, this is a lot.”

Time to stop, and breathe

I have enough experience to spot the signs of needing a moment. Mostly, this recognition is in someone else, but this time it was by looking in the mirror. I knew I needed to speak up and find my support network, as well as cut back on a few things.

I know I didn’t need long, but I needed time to focus on my priorities and defer the jobs that weren’t essential, which is why I briefly stopped writing.

That’s why this blog was silent for a month, despite my pre-planned calendar.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I made sure I also talked this through with those I needed to. I brain-dumped, with rationale, so my point of view was understood and heard, but also so I emptied my mind of anything clouding it.

A problem shared is a problem halved, etc…

With all this in mind, the message I hope you take away from this post is that there’s a difference between not being able to function, and a rare moment of it all getting a little too much.

That difference is huge and distinct.

We rarely go from performing to not at all, without something in the middle.

Spotting your signs of this ‘middle’, so you’re not on the brink, and finding someone to be your north star, means you’ll get better at understanding when you’re beyond your best so next time you can identify when you’re about to fall over.

It all helps.