More Answers (02/02/26): Getting Out of a Slog

Hi Everyone, 

Here are More Answers... to help you head into the work week. Remember, you can see previous newsletters at askchrista.com/MoreAnswers.

Today’s topic: Getting Out of a Slog

Most of us know what a slog feels like: work isn't bad, but it's tedious. Heavy. Weighing us down. Moving us more slowly in ways that can be draining vs energizing. 

And for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, with include those in areas that are freezing and not used to it, or piled underneath a foot of snow they are't equipped to manage, any slog at work can feel harder than usual.

But "slogs" can be during any time of the year when it feels like you're grinding away, limited by your own capacity: tax season for accountants, benefits season for benefit managers, peak clinical cycles for urgent care, busy construction months... and any time work ramps up and the volume of it slows us down. 

Sometimes it's about pacing more than how much you get done.

Knowing When to Sprint and When to Pause

Getting out of a slog requires self-awareness and proactive balance. Research on work stress and recovery shows that people do better when they distinguish between periods that truly require sustained effort vs those that require a break to RECOVER and RESTORE (Sonnentag & Fritz, 2015).

But sometimes work requires (demands?) the sprints: deadlines matter, and a lot of people are depending on them. Output matters, and a lot of people are depending on them, too. 

We need to "show up." But taking brief breaks, even while we show up, is doable and matter just as much.

For example, you can adjust expectations and slow down just enough to regain clarity for an hour or two. And you can get better at discerning what actually needs the spring vs what simply needs a PACE (a steady, uninterrupted pace is often the basis of high productivity-- not frantic, chaotic pace...)

The risk comes when everything becomes a sprint. Without deliberate recovery, fatigue accumulates and work begins to feel meaningless, even when it is not (Maslach & Leiter, 2016). Staying engaged during a slog means checking in with yourself regularly and having the self-awareness and discipline to ask where the priorities are and which pace is best suited to get the right work done.

Oh, and when can you get moments to restores? (yeah, that's important, too)

You'll get through a slot much better and more productively when you know yourself well enough to PACE your energy AND your attention.

BOOSTER FOR YOUR WEEK

Here's a great article from Psychology Today called, "The Magic of Pacing - A Personal Perspective: How pacing helps me balance my energy and manage my life," by Diane Solomon, PhD, reviewed by Devon Frye.  Dr. Solomon likens the idea of pacing with how occupational therapy sets up patients with chronic illnesses and pain to "pace" throughout the day.

Truth? It's a brilliant analogy and one I found not only intriguing, but exceptionally relatable on many levels. I think you will, too.

I want to also offer, "Recovery from work stress: Why detacthing matters," from Melissa Clarke (on LinkedIn, October 31, 2024). I'm offering the LinkedIn article so you can have easy access, since HBR often restricts non-subscriber articles to three per month. It's a fantastic article that breaks down the importance of pacing, recovering, and getting through "the slog" (although the writer doesn't use that exact word... that's a Christa special!!)

With kindness,

Christa

(Helpful? Interesting? Please feel free to forward and invite others to subscribe at askchrista.com/newsletter.)

References

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311

Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2015). Recovery from job stress: The stressor–detachment model as an integrative framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S72–S103. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924

(remember: most public libraries in the USA offer access to academic papers; however, if yours does not, then Google these papers to see where they are listed, how you can learn more about them, and how you can find similar papers to learn more about conflict management and conflict resolution in the workplace)