It’s the 4th of November, and this is only my second #vdm30in30 post. There is undoubtably more than one reason. I’m in California for the EMC Data Protection group’s new hire training as support for the Spanning training, and because all the Data Protection PMMs are in one place this week. I also am working on a launch and other typical fires that flare up for product marketing managers. So Monday was travel and PMM work, yesterday was all-day meetings and PMM work.

That brings us to today. The session that includes Spanning is today, of course I have to keep up with the PMM work, and this morning gets kicked off with a customer webinar. And when you’re away from home you do still need to keep up with all your family responsibilities. It’s a lot.

I just feel very wound up this morning. For the past couple of years, I’ve worked hard on changing my mindset and habits to bring myself out of the go-go-go mentality that it’s so easy to slip into. I’ve changed how I eat, I don’t drink as much alcohol, I exercise, I meditate, I go outside more to stay grounded and connected, I limit the time I give to work, I pay attention to how connected I am electronically (and limit that connection as well). I play with Fred the Dog a lot. 🙂

But when I’m traveling, that all gets very hard. Eating well is much harder when you are on the road. Not drinking is sometimes seen as an insult in our industry. I have to do the work I traveled to do, as well as keep up with my normal workload. All of these changes make it much harder to exercise or meditate. And depending on the city you are in and the schedule you’re working with, sometimes getting outside takes a dedicated plan of its own. I’m much more connected electronically when I travel so I can keep up with my day job and my family responsibilities. And of course Fred the Dog never gets to come with me. 🙁

The symptoms are all there: I’m snappier. I fire off emails or texts without putting the thought into my responses that people deserve. I get this horrible feeling that I can’t keep all the balls in the air. I start to miss things.

I’m too wound up.

So what to do? I’ve learned a lot from yoga about paying attention to my breath….am I holding it? Is my breathing shallow? When I get like this my breathe is never nice and normal and calm. So I take intentional, long deep breaths, and pay attention to what part of my body isn’t feeling right. Usually its my shoulders…completely tight and hunched up. Sometimes my fists are clenched. If I’m stressed about something in particular I may feel it right in my stomach. This is when I know I have to slow down, and take care of myself.

Just writing this blog post has helped me reflect on what I know I need to do to try to stabilize a bit. I have had a little voice in the back of my head saying “omg you know you have to get that thing done”, and “girl you do not have time for this foolishness go check if that email reply came in!!”. But I check my breathe, check my body, take deep breaths, breathe out all of that go-go-go spirit.

I’m going to meditate after this. Then I’ll start my day. I’ll work hard to eat properly, avoid alcohol, give my full attention and consideration to how I respond to people. And my personal goal today is to find a way to spend time outside. Unfortunately nothing can replace Fred the Dog. But I will just think about how that goofy dog will act when I walk through my front door, and I think I can make it till tomorrow night.

I’m two blog posts down, but I’ll make them up somehow this month. Staying balanced, and not wound up is much more important. Here’s a song from a chill-out Spotify playlist I follow. Wishing all y’all peace this week!