I do not know how your day looks, but mine often feels like it is being supervised by a voice in my earphones.
Sometimes it is a Zoom call. Sometimes a webinar. Other times, a podcast on leadership or personal growth. And on quieter days, it is just instrumental focus music helping me power through those never-ending email blocks.
This little parallel universe in my headset gives me the illusion of productivity, of multitasking, of being constantly on top of things. It creates momentum, keeps me going, and fills the silence.
But here is the thing, it also overloads.
There comes a point when I pause and realise I cannot hear my own voice anymore.
What am I actually feeling underneath the constant stream of information and background noise?
Over the years, I have developed a small, almost ritualistic habit to stay connected to myself.
I pause, take a breath, and say my feelings out loud.
I am angry.
Or, I think I am burning out.
Naming it helps. It shifts me from reactive autopilot mode to something more mindful. It gives me the chance to ask why I am feeling this way, what triggered it, and what I actually need right now. This check-in is almost impossible to do with the headset still on.
Finding real me-time is hard. And even when I get it, the temptation to fill it with something mindless like Netflix, social media scrolling, or YouTube rabbit holes is strong.
Yet I have learned that true recovery does not always look like complete escape.
Sometimes, it looks like lying in bed with snacks and a screen for a day and giving myself full permission to do just that, without guilt.
Other times, it looks like something I now call my workation reset.
A workation is not just a trendy word for working from a different place. For me, it is a deliberate and focused pause from the usual mental noise.
No podcasts. No music.
Often, no phone.
It is about carving out time, just a few days if needed, where I can focus on meaningful tasks like deep writing, strategic thinking, or creative projects. Yes, I am still chasing the finish line of my lifelong PhD thesis.
It is not always easy. It takes full family support to make it happen.
It means asking my partner to take over for a while, rebalancing schedules at home, and explaining to my toddler why Mummy needs quiet time.
But it is a fair deal.
We take turns.
We support each other’s need for space, rest, and recalibration.
And every time I come back from a workation, I notice something.
The brain fog lifts.
My focus sharpens.
My natural energy returns. Not the jittery, coffee-fuelled kind, but the steady and authentic kind.
So if you are reading this with your headset on, maybe even in the middle of your third Teams call of the day, take this as your gentle reminder.
Pause. Check in with yourself. Say it out loud if you need to.
Maybe even take the headset off for a while.
Your voice matters.