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Raise your hand if you are bone tired. Like no amount of exercise or self-care or time off or sleep will help. The kind that leaves you in a fog and you wonder when you’ll ever get out of it. Yeah, me too. It’s been a rough 14 months and while things are certainly getting better, the fog has not yet lifted. There is a reason for this and there is something you can do about it.

As much as I hate to admit it, Ken Jacobs wrote a compelling piece for Spin Sucks a couple of weeks ago. Titled How to Be a Stellar Leader When You’re Exhausted, it’s been on my mind since it was published. This is a very real thing—it’s hard to lead a team when you’re constantly in a fog and being pulled in a million directions because kids are still learning at home, there aren’t camps to send them to this summer, and your team feels the same way.

So I said to him, “What are you advising your clients to do right now if they’re exhausted and in a fog and having a hard time leading themselves, let alone a team?” And so his article was born.

In it, he talks about all of the things every one of us should be doing: a deep dive on self-awareness, practice self-care, double down on empathy, and almost fake your way through energy, if need be. It is, after all, contagious.

I agree with all of these things‚ and work hard to practice every one of them daily. Yet, the fog is real, y’all. I have to force myself to read and write most days—things I typically adore and do without thought. The exercise has been rough, too, but I do it, even when I want to just use that time to scroll aimlessly through Instagram. And I stopped getting up with an alarm because I read that was one of the best things you can do for yourself in times like these. Sleep is of utmost importance and I love me some sleep!

Even still, it’s been 14 months since I’ve felt like myself and I know I’m not alone. That’s why I’ve begun to dig into what to do about it. I am Type A, after all. I’m not one to sit around and let some dumb Corona fog take me down.

And that is what we’re going to discuss on this week’s episode of the Spin Sucks Podcast.

Resources Included

• How to Be a Stellar Leader When You’re Exhausted
• If Your Brain Feels Foggy And You’re Tired All The Time, You’re Not Alone
• Dr. Kali Cyrus
• Spin Sucks Community

About Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm. She is the lead blogger at Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro. She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR. Full bio