#selfcare — Blog — Co-Creating Inclusion

Revisiting burnout

I won’t lie - I’m tired, although it comes in waves, and it’s hard to know if its from covid or just... all this. Burnout is coming up with some of our clients too, especially those on the frontlines of putting DEI to practice in their organizations. The work is tiring, and it can be hard to pinpoint what exactly is exhausting us the most.

I think, to some extent, it doesn’t really matter, or if you need an answer but can’t figure it out, it is probably all of the above. Figuring out the source can be helpful, but only to a degree, because what if we can’t change the source?

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickJanuary 16, 2022#pandemiclife, #needs, #burnout, #selfcare, #DEIinapandemic

The heaviness of grief

Things are so much better than they were for my family now that the kids are settled back into in-person school. That they are thriving seems like a miracle, and with my younger son just a few weeks away from being fully vaccinated, there is the sense that I can exhale just a little bit.

And yet, with the exhale comes the grief, multi-layered. Waves and waves of it, especially, ironically, at the weekend when there is more space for it.

It can be easy to numb ourselves through a variety of means, including throwing ourselves into work. The danger is that grief unnamed can come out sideways to exacerbate power differentials and systems of oppression.

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickNovember 21, 2021#pandemiclife, #parenting, #grief, #selfcare

Designing for spaciousness

This past week was "retreat week" for Co-Creating Inclusion. Starting this year, we have blocked off the last week of every other month as well as the entire month of August from workshop facilitation or any external calls or meetings.

This time is essential for us to take a pause from holding space for our clients and to regroup, process, focus on our own needs, reflect, strategize, build our capacity and more. Some of us also use it for vacation time.

Building capacity

I've been thinking a lot about capacity lately.

After all, it's February, which is usually my hardest month anyway, and we are almost a year into the pandemic here in the US.

I'm hitting a wall, and I know many others are too.

Capacity to me is different to productivity. Productivity is doing more. Capacity can be about doing the same amount of work, but at a lower cost, without expending as much energy.

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickFebruary 21, 2021#capacity, #selfcare, #DEIinapandemic

Burnout burnout burnout burnout...

Emotional exhaustion and burnout is real and has a disproportionate impact on women, BIPOC and others who face systemic challenges.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt more emotionally exhausted, and getting more sleep doesn't help.

So it was that Brene Brown's podcast interview with authors of the book "Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle" resonated deeply and also provided insights and practical strategies for dealing with stress, even when we have no control over the stressors.

Read more about my takeaways, then go listen to the podcast episode, then go read the book!

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickOctober 18, 2020#stress, #burnout, #brenebrown, #pandemiclife, #selfcare

Getting creative about meeting needs

It's so interesting to me how so many of the people who are quarantined alone are suffering from isolation, and so many who are quarantined with family, especially with young kids, are suffering from a lack of alone time.

For some of us, the way we happen to be quarantined aligns better with our personality preferences than others.

And of course, some of us do not have the luxury or privilege of being quarantined at all.

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