Wow, this year is really flying by. I can’t believe it is already November. During this time of year I tend to get tired and my motivation to do anything starts to waiver. Can you relate? Between Friday night football games, preparing for basketball, and the start of competition season, we all can feel a little overwhelmed and are ready to hang up the towel.
I call this time of year ‘November Burnout’. This is a real thing y’all, and some of you may not be experiencing it right now, but just wait until December...be aware IT IS COMING!
It is important to take time for some self care and reflection during these times of doubt, tiredness, and lack of motivation. In this article I have listed my top 3 things that I personally do to stay motivated and show up for my team everyday.
One: Remember WHY you enjoy this activity
This is the time of year that I usually ask myself “why the heck do I do this?” When this begins to happen I just sit back, take a sip of my coffee and take out a piece of paper to free write all the things that I absolutely LOVE about cheer, dance and my team. I usually give myself about 10-15 minutes to empty my brain. This exercise always causes me to then reflect back on fun memories that have happened that bring a smile to my face. From there this ‘cloudy’ time of my year doesn’t seem so bad after all and I’m able to pull myself out of the ‘funk.’
Two: Take a break for family and friends
We have been grinding it out so hard for the last 2-3 months between school, practice, choreography sessions, cleaning, games, events, ect….. Whoa I’m exhausted just listing everything. Another thing I do is just STOP! I unplug my brain from anything that has to do with cheer, dance, and team and spend some much needed time with my family and friends.
Now this is usually just one full day of being just plain Arikka. Not Arikka the choreographer, blogger, coach, teacher, and mentor. Sometimes you just need to shed off all the things that you do/are and revert back to a simpler time when you were just YOU! My favorite activity is going to get my nails and feet done with my mom. I mean it’s a free foot and back massage, and I come out of the salon feeling extra beautiful and refreshed.
Three: Take it one day at a time
My final tip for beating out the November burnout is to focus on one thing at a time. I know, the schedule can appear to be very overwhelming looking at every day in your calendar filled with something you have to do with your team, but just slow down and remember once that day/event is over… it is over and you can mark it off.
I hope these three tips for overcoming the November burnout will help you fight back against the overwhelm of the end of the season, and get you to Thanksgiving as fast. I can tell you that today I already plan to do step two and take a break, unplug, and just be Arikka.
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