The Year of Grind
Since my eldest daughter became a teenager, I have found one of our best ways to connect with her is by meme. She has a wicked sense of humour so I am on high alert looking for memes to keep that connection strong. The other day I came across this one and thought – well that pretty much sums up the year for so many people.
2024 has certainly been the year of grind. Many of us are working harder than ever but for less results.
The Australian market has been a tough one, with interest rates on hold at a higher level than in recent years, cost of living rising, both of which are causing significant financial stress for so many people and organisations. There’s also been significant changes to many Australians’ working from home arrangements across both international and local companies, and governments making our working lives more complex and difficult. Add to this things like the US election and its global impact, and this is most certainly a recipe for a challenging and at times, exhausting year. In fact, I’d say that what we are experiencing is a global or at the very least national burnout.
Burnout is defined as having three main parts and we can see these playing out for today’s context across the population as a whole. It’s the perfect storm.
The parts of burnout are:
Physical and emotional exhaustion – Tick! We’ve been working hard and emotionally on edge.
Lack of a sense of progress - Tick! We’re working harder than ever for less results. We’re not achieving the goals we usually hit, nor are we able to make as much of a positive impact.
Cynicism – Tick! Multiple wars around us and poor behaviour from politicians. We don’t have a lot of faith in the world right now and it’s easy to be bitter and judgemental. Quiet quitting has evolved into Resenteeism where people who haven’t participated in the great resignation are now in staying in jobs they don’t like, because they are afraid to leave.
This burnout is across all industries, roles and contexts. While so much of this is beyond our control (unless you’ve figured out a way to influence the global financial market!), there are still things that we can do to protect ourselves and reduce the impact of burnout on us.
With the sources of burnout coming at us from so many angles and areas of our lives, what this highlights is the importance of recovery – especially during this festive season.
While not everyone gets a break at this time of the year (hello retailers and hospitality), using regular recovery techniques will help you to get through the challenges of the festive season – be that at home or at work!
2025 is coming so we want to use the chance at this time of year to really pay down some good recovery strategies and techniques. And I will share these with you through the incredible art of memes….
Top 5 tips for recovery over the festive season:
1. The micro break: Whether you are at home and prepping for the festivities at your place or you're working right up to the main days off, don’t forget the power of a micro break. All you have to do is 3-5 mins of deep breathing, after stepping away from your desk (or the Christmas wrapping) and centring yourself. A friend of mine and behavioural scientist, Milo Wilkinson says “Look at your brain as a battery as the day goes on that battery is drained. Exercise helps stop your battery being depleted. But the only thing that adds charge back to your brain is meditation.”
2. Get into Nature: Whether this is in the local park while you go get lunch or you take in a view of the water, don’t underestimate the impact of nature and it’s calming effect on your nervous system. For me it’s the ocean that brings me calm, but if that’s not nearby, the pool or time in the bush really works for me too.
3. Make time for nothing: We are already super busy and overscheduled in our everyday life. We often fill our holiday break with too much to do, when what we really need do is less. Make sure you book in some serious nothing time where you don’t have an agenda or have to be productive.
4. Practice gratitude: My mother-in-law always says “Life is a leveller. No one has it good or bad all the time.’ We often expect that things will go the way we want it to, all the time, but life goes its own way. Practicing gratitude by journalling each day, or most days, on what has gone well, has a real impact on helping to reduce cynicism.
5. Find what fills your cup: Take time this break to search for the things that give you energy. The problem with the year of grind saps our energy. Actually, let’s get real here in everyday life we give out so much energy. We give energy to our clients/customers, our co-workers, the people we lead, our friendship groups, our families, our partner and children, if we have them. In order to keep giving, we regularly have to fill up our cup. The problem is that many people don’t know what fills up their cup, they have neglected themselves for so long they don’t know what would give them energy. Make it your quest to find out what recharges your battery. It could be art, a hobby, exercise, some sort of social activity, volunteering to help others, even solitude if you are an introvert. It is different depending on what floats your boat. Play around with different things and what makes you feel alive.
While 2024 may not have brought you all you’d hoped for and indeed what you got may have been a grind to get, the grind won’t go forever (it just feels like it). Rather than a ‘nice to have’, recovery is essential to get you through these challenging times.
I am going to leave you this year with another meme – what can I say – it’s ingrained in me now – find the thing that brings you joy. It will be different depending on who you are, as my wife and I have discovered…..
