Ladies, Put Your Own Oxygen Mask On First [Work-life 101]

We KNOW we’re supposed to take care of ourselves, but we also still too-often put ourselves at the end of our todo list – if not last. Andria gives us some serious reminders of the price we may pay when we don’t manage our work-life to invest in ourselves. – InPower Editors

You know the drill: you’re on a plane taxiing to the runway and the flight attendants are demonstrating how to put on your oxygen mask, in case of the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure.  The next line is (say it with me) “remember to put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others.”  This makes perfect sense in this situation of an airplane emergency.  Clearly you can’t help anyone else if you don’t have any air to breathe, right?  Although we may not realize it or even think about it, this also makes perfect sense in our everyday lives.

Work-life tip: help yourself to help others

Clearly you can’t help anyone else if you don’t have any air to breathe, right?

As women, we are natural caregivers.  I am speaking from personal experience and from witnessing many female friends, colleagues, clients, and family members.  I’m sure you can relate to the scenario of waking before dawn, rushing to get your kids and yourself out the door, running from one meeting to another at work or in your business, rushing to get to your child’s soccer game or take someone to the doctor, hurrying to get home in time to meet a bus or make dinner, trying to find some quality time to spend with your family in the hour that exists between finishing dinner, and trying to get everything ready for tomorrow before you pass out from exhaustion; only to wake up again and do it all over again tomorrow. I’m exhausted from typing that let alone doing it! The problem is there is a vital piece missing to this puzzle: you finding time to take care of and nurture yourself so you actually have enough energy to give to others. We typically put ourselves last, until something reminds us that those airplane instructions to put our own oxygen mask on first apply to real-life outside the plane, too.

For example, it was about 8 years ago and I was working some ridiculously long and stressful hours while in the middle of a company relocation. I was operating on empty but didn’t realize it until I ended up passing out in my office at work, (hitting my head on my desk in the process of this happening) and then being rushed to the hospital. While there, I underwent every test under the sun to determine that, thankfully, there was nothing wrong with me other than a minor infection accompanied by pure exhaustion. I ended up being out of work for a little while to recover and during that time I was of no use to anyone.  This all happened because during this crazy busy time, I forgot to take care of myself.

I heard about a similar but more serious situation that happened to one of my colleagues.  She too passed out at work and was rushed to the hospital only when she woke up, she couldn’t remember anything. She had temporary amnesia, which was obviously a very scary situation.  The cause of her temporary illness was pure exhaustion.  Thankfully after taking some time off, her memory returned but her life changed drastically. No more working 80-100 hours a week because when she did that and forgot to take care of herself, she ended up being of no use to herself, her family or her company for several months.  

Although these may seem like extreme examples, they are real and demonstrate that when we don’t take care of ourselves, we don’t have anything left to give to anyone else. You cannot perform well at work and/or support you family if you are on empty.  It’s exactly like the airplane rule says: Put your own oxygen mask on first so you have enough air to breathe and energy for yourself before you can assist and give to others.

Take charge of your career development to get the job that supports your work and your life. Check out the tools and resources in the InPower Coaching Career Center.