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Then I had a great summer and didn’t do any work until late August. I told myself the 2020-21 school year would be different, that there was no way I could make it through a full year working at last spring’s pace. Spoiler alert – I failed!<\/em><\/strong><\/span> (until recently, that is, stay tuned!). I’ve been working at almost 100% capacity every minute I’m at work. I avoid starting conversations with colleagues because I don’t have the time. I eat lunch alone in my room so I can get more work done. I can’t stop checking my work email several times every night. Again, I know I shouldn’t do this, I know it’s not what’s best for my well-being, but here we are. And in this regard, I’m sure I’m not the only person going through this. Again, I’ve been prioritizing my productivity over my self-care and leisure. Don’t get me wrong; of course, productivity is important for all of us, but the unattainable levels I’ve been striving for have caused me to lose the joy I normally find in my work and daily life.<\/p>\n So why am I writing this? Because something happened to me a few weeks ago. I fell in love with disc golf!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n For those who haven’t heard of disc golf, it’s very similar to golf, except instead of trying to get a ball in a hole, you’re trying to get your disc into the basket (pictured above) in as few throws as possible.<\/p>\n Ever since I was a kid, I have loved throwing frisbees, and I have enjoyed playing golf. Now I get the best of both worlds, along with self-motived competition<\/span>, fresh air<\/span>, exercise<\/span>, comradery<\/span> (I usually play with my brother and\/or a friend of mine), and an overall excitement<\/span> driven by looking forward to the next disc golf game<\/span><\/strong> and what shots I might try (shameless plug – I missed a hole-in-one last week by inches!).<\/p>\n During the last few weeks, I have had a much better work\/life balance, thanks in part to my new found passion. I won’t bore you by going on and on about everything I’ve learned about the sport so far (admittedly, I’m DEEP down the rabbit hole!), but I will say that because I’ve had something else to focus my attention on, I’ve barely thought about work during my evenings and weekends recently<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span> I’ve felt more positive, in general. I’ve been eating lunch with a colleague instead of by myself (he’s buying a disc golf starter set now after I talked his ear off about it last week!), and I’ve been trying to make time to chat more with my friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n This all happened completely by accident, but I couldn’t be happier that it did. If my story sounds familiar, I hope you will also look for something to take your laser-focus off of work, and when you do find it, sink your teeth in HARD! Maybe for you, it is running or biking. Maybe it’s knitting, or learning magic, or learning to play the guitar. Or maybe it’s playing a silly sport like disc golf.<\/p>\n Take care of yourself, everyone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n (image #1 courtesy of: https:\/\/www.wesa.fm\/post\/massive-new-disc-golf-course-cranberry-reflects-booming-sport#stream\/0)<\/em><\/p>\n (image #2 courtesy of: https:\/\/discgolf.ultiworld.com\/2020\/04\/08\/dont-go-pro-moneyand-thoughts-u-s-champ-kristin-tattar\/)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was burnt out last spring. No matter what I did, work followed me everywhere I went and was always on my mind. I couldn’t escape it. I knew what I should’ve been doing instead (self-care, unplug, reach out … Continue reading ![\"Massive](\"https:\/\/www.wesa.fm\/sites\/wesa\/files\/201901\/010419_disc_golf_2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Don't](\"https:\/\/cdn.discgolf.ultiworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/48801238358_7c1d9a21f7_k.jpg\")
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