A note from Human Resources

What if discovering our limits is the key to creation?

The cottage garden flower beds at RHS Hyde Hall, Essex

Hi friends, happy Sunday to you

—The past couple of weeks have been intense. My workload is gaining momentum, which is no bad thing, but I know that I am approaching the limits of my mental and physical capacity. There is a voice in the back of my head that says: that’s enough Grace, it’s time to rein it in a bit.

A fellow parent messaged me yesterday saying she was ‘busting a gut just to stay afloat’. We are both caring for children under two, trying to carve out new working routines that bear some resemblance to the careers we were building prior to motherhood. Like me she works in a creative industry, where the onus is primarily on her to make things happen. I found it comforting to read her words; they made me feel less alone.

As someone who recently became self-employed, there is a temptation to say ‘yes’ every time I’m asked to do something. Yes yes yes, I say—usually from a place of genuine excitement and a desire to exercise the more creative side of my brain. Yes yes yes. Let me help.

But my one year old also needs me. Now she’s started nursery I have “my” afternoons back, but as soon as I pick her up she seems to crave physical proximity. This means that I have about three hours a day where I can give my work my undivided attention. The rest of my time is spent on chores and (invariably…) tending to my daughter’s needs before my own. I don’t want to glorify that last bit, it’s just a statement of fact, something I’m working on.

There is a special place in hell for women in the generation above mine who told other women that they could have it “all”. That giving birth should be but a footnote to an otherwise unblemished career trajectory. That having a family shouldn’t stand in the way of ‘success’.

This philosophy was nothing less than a way to deny our humanity, a vicious trap that ensnared so many. Is there something wrong with us if we *can’t* keep on the treadmill? Of course not. In fact, I’m willing to bet that acknowledging our limits and protecting our physical reserves might just be the thing that enables us to fully be of service to the world.

So here’s my idea: what if our ability to be of service to others, and ourselves, is predicated on protecting our own energy reserves? Our human resources.

Historically I’ve taken a relatively dim view of human resource departments. What are they there for, really? They always struck me as busybody types, curious to know what I’m up to. In the corporate world at least, Human Resource departments are not really there to serve the needs of employees, but the company at large. “HR” exists to ensure that the workflow continues without too much disruption; quietly shuffling staff in and out of roles as needed without giving much thought to the impact this has on er, human beings. (I’m sorry if I’m shattering illusions here…!).

Now I’m freelance I only have my own fledging writing + editorial business to worry about. And the work will only flow if I am physically up to it. That means finding new ways to protect my energy, my human resource.

So consider this edition of the Golden Hour an internal memo from my personal HR department. I’m happy to CC you in, if you’d like.

MEMO: Protecting the wellbeing of our workforce.

TO: Employee #1

Not everyone is entitled to your time.

You can only be of full service to your art if you are well and not burnt out.

You can only be of full service to others if you protect your energy.

Try saying no to things, every once in a while.

We will best serve the world from a place of happiness and health.

I’ve spent the past 24 hours trying to find pockets of rest within the busyness of life. Today that looked like a visit to RHS Garden Hyde Hall, in Essex.

To be amongst the flowers.

More of this good stuff please.

Take care,

Grace