Are you a Dr Who fan? I wasn’t when I was younger (it would have been far too scary) but I love the reboot led by Russell T Davies and David Tenant is my doctor, so I was delighted he was back recently, both saving the world And looking shattered. ‘You’re running on fumes’ said Donna, his erstwhile companion. ‘Ha!’ I thought, the writers had captured the 2023 zeitgeist!
Now, spoiler alert, the doctor regenerated into the fabulous Ncuti Gatwa, but not in the usual way. Weird! Rather than regenerating, the doctor split into two, and fast forward a bit of explanatory dialogue, it turns out he’s done that because he needs bloody rest! ‘Me too!’ I almost shouted at the screen.
So Ncuti’s doctor gets to whizz around in the tardis fighting evil (or some blue goblins from a really nice looking north London attic flat) and generally looking suave and smart and all that. David’s doctor gets to sit under some wisteria eating casserole with Donna’s family (and Bonnie Langford who turned up as you do.) David’s doctor is resting. He’s re-fuelling his tank and remembering why he fights the baddies in the first place, for this feeling – he says – the feeling of arguing over casseroles under wisteria.
Now there’s a thought.
Wouldn’t that be great? I could have one Jennifer who is at a spa for a month whilst the other Jennifer delivers workshops. I could have one Jennifer sorting out all the emails from school (full time job) and the other jennifer never having to look at emails ever again.
You could have one version of you to attend all the Teams meetings? Whilst another of you tried to clear all the Teams messages? Perhaps you’d need to split into three or four so you could also be relaxing on a beach and doing some actual thinking work. I mean who has time for that these days?
Sadly, humans cannot regenerate into two. And Hermione’s time turner from Harry Potter is also not available to us, unless you know something I do not?
But I think the Doctor Who writers are clever, because I think this feeling of needing to do so much in just 24 hours a day, and getting more and more burnt out in the process, was a 2023 vibe and so far it appears to have come with us into this year. I for one am having to be more and more intentional about boundaries around my time and emotional energy than ever before.
This year I’m continuing with those habits I started last year: blocking apps (including email, as much as possible) on my phone, being outside even if it is in a muddy garden.
I’m also introducing some new ones:
1. No meetings until 930 to allow a virtual commute aka coffee after the school run. I can’t tell you what a wellbeing check in it is, especially if it’s a day where everything else is virtual. Remember, we get so much more of the positive brain chemistry when we see people in real life.
2. Clearer caps on how many individuals and organisations I can work with at any one time.
3. I did my first park run with my friends a couple of weeks ago, setting specific fitness goals – for me this has to hang on doing something with others – motivates me to move away from my desk and into the fresh air.
So, with the sad understanding that we cannot create another version of ourselves to get on with changing the world, we have to do it ourselves, what do we need in place in order to protect our energy?
I started my study to be a resilience dynamic practitioner in March. It’s a lot about energy management and I can’t wait to share the learning with you.
