Detox

“Life is made up of rhythms. Every ‘much’ also needs a ‘little’” - Richard Seidl

Today I had to break my fast. After days of only water, juices and broth, I had solid food again today. An apple and a pear. The taste was indescribably good. I fast every year. It gives me clarity. Energy. A reset. Getting away from habits and the like.

Fittingly, today was the first sunny day for a long time and you can tell that the sun is getting stronger. The birds are chirping and the first early bloomers are appearing. Here, too, a new cycle begins that repeats itself every year. When we look at nature, we see these rhythms everywhere. The seasons, the moon cycles or simply day and night and rain and sun. And they also exist in our own lives. Highs are followed by lows. And then highs again.

But in everyday life, we are allowing this to happen less and less. This still needs to be done, that too. We jump from one team meeting to the next. A quick sandwich at lunchtime and the rollercoaster ride continues. Just before we go to sleep, we check our smartphones - and then we’re right back at it again in the morning. Higher, faster and further. We know that this is not good for us. But we don’t draw any conclusions. We like to ignore the extreme consequences - burnout, depression, etc. - but it won’t happen to me. I’ll relax at the weekends. But they’re already full: children’s birthdays, tax returns, Netflix. There’s no break. No breathing space.

It doesn’t have to be a fasting cure. We can create little moments of peace throughout the day:

• Only check your cell phone after breakfast and put it far away early in the evening.
• Close all tabs and programs at the end of the day and start fresh in the morning.
• Take breaks between team meetings.
• Go out for a walk at lunchtime.
• Turn off the radio and just don’t listen to it.
• Endure silence (very difficult).
• Switch off notifications.
• Use screen time, for example for social media.
• …

Just try some of them out and let the break be a break. Without reading, cell phones or other distractions. I now believe that this self-care will become indispensable in the coming years. Of course we have to deal with AI, of course we have to write and work through our user stories and complete our tasks. But if you are constantly running at 180 and never take a break, you will burn out.

And maybe that would also be good for one or two projects. Instead of pushing even more stories into the backlog - just don’t do it. Take a sprint break in which the team relaxes, regains clarity of thought and does nothing. Sprint fasting, so to speak. And then start the next sprint with new and fresh energy.

Sounds crazy?

Ja. Aber besser so als mit Mainstream ins Burn-out.

And so now it’s time to take a break.