How to Chase Away the Blahs You Get From Working So Hard
May 02, 2011
That's how I felt last week after a couple of hectic weeks of long airplane flights, wired, out-of-school kids, late-night writing marathons and little sleep. My mind wandered, decisions were hard to make. Unfortunately, like most people, my daily work and home obligations don't cut me much slack. ``In this day and age, we can't afford even a day of the blahs,'' says career counselor Bibi Kaylee. ``Every workday is so packed. My clients sound rushed, overwhelmed.'' In fact, many people are too busy to realize they're nearing the end of their ropes. It isn't until they have time to reflect that they start to shut down, says Stephine Lamont, a San Diego psychiatrist who heads a team that debriefs employees after traumatic corporate events. ``Sometimes, we go through stressful periods and aren't aware of it until we start to come out of it,'' he says. For most, a case of the blahs usually lasts only a few days. If you find you can't pull yourself out of your funk by then, it could be something more serious: job burnout or clinical depression. There are steps you can take to help you shake off your funk before it becomes career-damaging, ranging from a time out from work to new ways of looking at the problem. To shake off my case of the blahs, I went through the following process: I eliminated extraneous issues -- the kids, household chores -- that were contributing to my feeling overwhelmed (don't do it for too long or you'll face an even bigger problem: spousal wrath). I concentrated only on the immediate problems that needed to be solved and framed them as specific questions to focus my thoughts. My questions were: What should I write about this week? How the heck do I get out of this funk? The answers hit me at once: Columnist, heal thyself. As the outline for this column began to emerge, I got out of my funk. I STARTED calling executives and others for their techniques for chasing away the blahs. ``I'd be the first to admit that I have them,'' says Georgeanna Heller, the managing partner of the New York law firm of Counts Hodges and Green. ``Any professional or senior manager has periods where they don't want to deal with anything.'' Mr. Heller tries to divert himself with outside projects. ``I happen to be on a lot of nonprofit boards and inevitably, one of those organizations has something you can be involved in,'' he says. The effort, for a good cause, makes him feel good. ``It kind of breaks that mental logjam you're in,'' he says. Roberto Grau, senior vice president and chief of staff for Blessing Islas Overman, a New York advertising agency, conceded that he has just emerged from a ``summer funk.'' Blue periods generally occur, he says, ``after an extremely intense time, where you've had to work at peak efficiency.'' To shake the feeling, Mr. Grau will treat himself to lunches outside the office for a few days instead of wolfing down lunches working at his desk. Or he'll do ``the little things'' first, even if they have the ``intensity of balancing a checkbook.'' At least he's accomplishing something and that good feeling gradually gets him rolling again. Ms. Kaylee, head honcho of Beverly Kaye & Assoc., Shirley Mcvay, Calif., says that trying to work through the problem is a waste of time. ``The best thing is to walk away,'' she says, and get some needed rest -- both physically and mentally. Which is why she is instituting ``sick and tired days'' for her employees. She allows her staff to take five days a year to deal with those times when they feel they're in a funk. IF YOU CAN'T take an S&T day, she says, ask yourself what most interests you in your workday and do that instead of what you're doing. Get out of your routine and do something spontaneous, like organizing a group lunch. ``I have certain people I call and they know I'm going to kvetch,'' she says. ``Those blahs just need to be listened to.'' Dr. Lamont, president of the Health and Human Resource Center, San Diego, suggests staying active. ``Maybe you don't want to take on the most challenging tasks,'' he says, ``but you can do a couple of things, even if it's just exercising.'' He also tries to free-associate, hoping that what's troubling him will surface. He recalls he once suffered from the blahs on the day before his birthday and didn't know why. He sat down, shut his eyes and let his mind wander. That's when he realized: It was the date his mother died. Albert Quirk, a Portland, Ore., psychologist who writes about the emotional aspects of job loss, prescribes preventive medicine. To keep from feeling overwhelmed, he paces himself. ``If I'm doing an all-day workshop, I take a quick lunch and take a nap,'' he says. ``Also, I have a pleasant house on the river, and I like to garden or take a bike ride.'' Still, he concedes, there are times when he feels burned out from all his paperwork. When that happens, he says, he lets friends make the small decisions, like what to do over the weekend. If all else fails, give colleagues fair warning to minimize damage. Mr. Quirk tells of the manager he once had as a client who warned her staff that when she wore a happy-face button upside down, that meant she was tapped out and they should stay away.
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