You know when you have a bit on your plate at work, even more on your plate at home and you didn’t sleep particularly well the night before? You’re about to head to dinner with your friends or the family  and to be honest, you’re kind of dreading it. Not because you don’t like your family… (hey, mum – love you)… But because without fail you know some well meaning relative is going to sigh, stare at you a moment and say…

“Gosh, You look tired”

Normally you’d launch back with, “Oh really Aunt Margaret? Tired?

“As tired as that weird pineapple casserole recipe you’ve been inflicting on us since 1987?” But you’re too tired. So you grimace politely and say “Oh, just got a lot on, you know how it is. Pass the carrots?”

The thing is, these check-ins from people we only see every so often can be really useful. Why?

Because when you’re in the thick of ongoing stress; you’re not always the best judge of how you’re tracking. You feel ok, until suddenly you don’t… to borrow a nature analogy, when you’re getting close to burnout, it can be hard to see the forest from the trees.

So next time Aunt Margaret winds you up about those bags under your eyes, maybe take it as a sign to check in with yourself and lock in some time to switch off and reset. So, if you’re planing to take some time off over the summer, remember that work can wait; that it’s not just your phone you need to recharge regularly and, practice being really present.