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The Recreation Workers – ‘Yes’ addiction

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Trying to do a lot of things at once is just like going browsing through Netflix. You sit down and find something good to watch.

5 minutes…

10 minutes…

15 minutes…

And before you know it, you spent most of the day trying to figure out what to watch but you end up watching nothing!

I’m sure most of you can relate to this. This scenario is similar to trying to get a lot of things done all at once. You try to check off a lot of things in your to-do list and at the end of the day, you realize that the vital and most important tasks are left undone, and then you end up feeling unaccomplished.

The world is hectic enough as it is. Every day, more and more recreational workers are feeling stressed out and anxious because of all the things that they need to finish.

The biggest factor I see in this is that they say yes too much.

The primary reason for this stems from our desire to please others. It’s normal for us, as recreation workers, to feel this way because aside from the nature of our profession, it’s wired in our personality too. It’s a trait we have in common. We put the needs of our clients, colleagues, and co-workers before ourselves. We care so much for them that sometimes, we give more than what we receive.

The second reason is the fear of failure and the feeling of not being enough; of not doing enough of what’s expected of us. We dread the judgments from others, so we try to give the impression of being able to handle things smoothly.

Why do we need to stop this habit?

We need to stop because most often than not, it hinders us from being productive. Being productive in the sense that we get to accomplish the significant tasks that bring us closer to our goals.

The key is to learn the habit of saying “no”. Learn to prioritize your tasks and align them with your goals. Know when to say “yes” and when to say “no”.

This will help you get the right things done.

Always remember, work smarter, not harder. Cheers!

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Overwhelm in Your Recreation Program

Is feeling stressed and overwhelmed with work, or life in general, something you often deal with? Do you feel like you’re getting behind on tasks, burdened with obligations that you need to catch up on, or feel like you’re not doing enough to support your clients? I hope you realize that you are not alone.

You’re in the right place! I will be sharing the steps to relieving overwhelm, so you can keep calm and carry on with your recreation programs.

Think of the time you were tidying up your messy closet. And as you look over the sea of clothing, you don’t know where to begin. You find yourself spending so much time deciding on where to start instead of taking action. Now ask yourself, how did it become disorderly in the first place? Before you clean up your closet, you need to identify what’s causing the clutter.

You once committed to making your closet organized. But as time goes by, your closet went from clutter-free to messy. And now you feel overwhelmed because you failed on your commitment. Ask yourself why? It could be because you’re not storing your clothes properly, you bought too many clothes and just toss them around.

Circumstances like these, where you fail to follow through your commitments, are steps towards feeling overwhelmed. We made commitments at a certain point, to ourselves and our clients, yet failed to follow through because of distractions, over committing, conflicts, and unexpected turn of events. But what truly matters is how we choose to react to these situations and what we make out of it: Do you give in to the stress and breakdown and continue to overcommit? Or do you reflect, stay focused, and carry on?

Here are some tips on how to effectively eliminate overwhelm:

BE MINDFUL IN YOUR COMMITMENT

When things start to unravel for you emotionally, it affects your ability to think rationally and hinders you from accomplishing your plans. Your mind is not in a good state to do your best for yourself and your clients. Stop grinding for more and burying yourself with too much work. Recognize when you are stuck, paralyzed, and stressed over daily tasks and responsibilities.

BE PRESENT IN THE MOMENT

The key to being mindful is to be present in the moment. If the feelings of overwhelm arise, focus on being present, and never under-estimate its power. Reliving the failures of the past and worrying about your to-do list or a big event coming up will do nothing but contribute to your overwhelm. I know this is inevitable, we cannot stop ourselves thinking about the past and future. It’s okay! Nothing is wrong with that. But by practising being present, you don’t necessarily do more, but you get more things done.

BE REALISTIC WITH YOUR COMMITMENTS

If you are going to miss a deadline, for instance, inform those who will be affected by it and set a new date that is realistic and possible. You have to be clear and be realistic with others and yourself. Consider the time, health, current situation, financial abilities, and expectations. Doing this sets achievable goals and you’ll feel less overwhelmed and burned-out. It also helps explain to others exactly what your plans are for achieving or not achieving that request. If you tell someone “I can get to that in 4 weeks”, they will have a greater expectation of when it will be done and can begin to understand your workload. If they ask for it immediately, ask which commitments you should sacrifice.

BE HONORABLE WITH YOUR WORDS

Honouring your commitments and promises, whether big or small, will get clients to honour you back. However, it’s sometimes a challenge to do what we say we’ll do. We want to help our clients, make meaningful and engaging activities for them, or transform their lives. That’s why being realistic and conscious of all your commitments play a huge part in this. Practice this to relieve feeling overwhelmed.

There’s ALWAYS something that needs to be done, it’s a never-ending checklist.

The purpose of these tips isn’t to help you check the items off your list, but to help you start feeling less overwhelmed and eliminate the stress in life. You took this career to forge better lives for your clients and yourself.

Overwhelm is part of the process, but it doesn’t have to be part of you.