You’re probably thinking: “Who cares?” or “That’s a little too personal- why weren’t you making your bed to begin with?”
Let me explain.
For a little over a year, I stopped making my bed, convinced that it was the reason that I burned out in the first place. I had been reading Atomic Habits and the first positive change I made was to make my bed. That small win gave me a little thrill. And so for the rest of the workday, I would chase thrills. I would walk in at 7AM and immediately start working. When the rest of the team came in at 8, I was halfway done with my list for the day and would just start doing additional work. If there was work that needed to be done after 5, I would stay in and do it.
It didn’t last long. I can’t pinpoint how or when but eventually I took on too much. I was making small mistakes. I had brain fog, migraines and body pain. I was losing patience with anyone and everyone who didn’t match my speed of work or anyone who I saw as slowing me down. What do you mean we still need approval for this? YOU’RE HOLDING THE PROJECT UP!
Eventually I reached my breaking point. I would cry constantly but did nothing to change my job. It was nearly the end of the year. I just needed to push through. Everyone struggled this time of the year.
But when a random person messaged me on LinkedIn asking me if I was interested in a content writer position, I agreed to speak to them.
I wasn’t in the job market and until I got that message, I never thought about content writing. Sure, I ran a blog but I was training to be a copywriter.
(At the time however, my workload consisted of a combination of different things).
The job was perfect. So I took it. It was a WFH role and I loved it. But for months afterwards, I refused to make my bed.
I automatically associated the bed with the source of my burnout. So I would wake up, go on with my day and then make the bed before I went to sleep for the night.
Yesterday marked 11 months in my new role (something I didn’t actually realise until now). Today was the first day I made the bed. I didn’t do it as soon as I woke up but I was passing the room and saw the bed wasn’t made. I made it and went on my way. And then realised what I had done… I had made my bed.
It took a few months for me to recover from the burnout and I was grateful that I was still able to work through it. But until I made my bed, I had no idea how much the whole thing weighed on me. It felt like leaving a chapter behind me. Like by making my bed, I was finally okay.