work life balance – Schpilkes The Blog

“Stress, Guests, and Cinnamon Rolls

Some people are stress eaters. I, on the other hand, am a stress baker.
When I get really, really stressed—I bake.
Unfortunately for me, I also eat what I bake. And I only bake things I like—like cinnamon rolls and banana bread. (Yes, I baked them even before the pandemic!)

I’ve always been a baker, but when I was diagnosed with celiac disease and had to go gluten-free 20 years ago, I had to change my recipes. I had to adapt to different flours to get the same taste my brain remembered. Luckily, I’ve adjusted. Unluckily, I still eat what I bake.

This past weekend, my daughter got married. It was stressful—but manageable. The family and guests that came with it? Less manageable and much more stressful.

I always have expectations about people’s behavior—maybe because I know how I behave as a guest. And in my foolish optimism, I expect the same from others. I’m usually wrong. But we’re only responsible for our own actions—and that’s where the stress comes in.

It’s stressful enough dealing with all that, but then all the flights back to my guests’ home country got canceled. So now, it looks like I’ll be hosting people longer than I expected—while also going to work, managing expectations, entertaining guests, handling stressed dogs, and just trying to return to my regular routine.

So: stress baking.
I’m writing this while my dough is rising, and I’ll be putting my gluten-free cinnamon rolls in the oven soon. Hoping the smell of cinnamon will calm my nerves.

(Recipe: Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls from Pamela’s Products, for the curious minds.)

February Goals – Breaking Down My Yearly Goals

January came and went, and I discovered that breaking down my yearly goals makes them much more achievable. So, I’ve decided to break my goals down by month to make my life easier. Most of my goals will be simple, but one or two will be those annoying, yet necessary, tasks. Feel free to use some of mine, and let me know how they worked for you!

My February Goals:

Clean another junk drawer – I find it easier to tackle one small drawer at a time rather than deciding on a complete declutter of the house.
Buy some new plants for the house – Buying new plants makes me happy, even if I don’t always succeed in keeping them alive.
Go through all the keys I have lying around the house and on my keychain – I have keys from old cars, offices, and mailboxes, and I’m not sure where or to whom they belong.
Make an art project out of all the useless keys I find – This just sounds like fun! Instead of throwing them away and contributing to pollution, I’ll turn them into art—even though I’m not the best artist.
Update my financial goals for the year – Check for any changes to contribution limits for 2025 and adapt my weekly deposits to match. The federal government updates contribution limits every year, and it’s crucial for me to maximize my retirement contributions, especially since I’m in my late fifties.
Go to an art museum and see an exhibit for fun – Who knows, maybe I’ll discover something I actually enjoy! I’m not a big museum enthusiast, but getting out of my comfort zone is important.
Try making rice pudding – I love rice pudding but have never made it at home, so it’s time to give it a try.
Update my resume and LinkedIn profile – Not because I’m job hunting, but because I’ve acquired new skills, and it never hurts to have an updated resume ready. You never know when an opportunity might pop up!
Clean my medicine cabinet – Check for expired products and refill what’s needed.
Update my car’s first aid kit – I haven’t done this since my last car, so it’s about time.

Do you set monthly goals too? How do you break down your yearly goals to make them more manageable?

The dreaded feeling of returning to work after vacation.

Vacations are good, in fact vacations are great. Most of us had a couple of days off for Thanksgiving last month, some of us even extended to add a couple more days to get a longer vacation and soon enough we will have, at least in the USA, our winter break.

The vacation part is great, the problem is when we get back to the office after this vacation. A million emails, problems that occurred while we were gone and god knows what fires that need to be put out when we get back.

Some of us hate going on vacation or avoid the vacation for exactly this reason – the returning to work anxiety. Is this normal? Apparently it is and even has a name – Post Holiday Syndrome. A Zapier/ Harris poll from August 2020 found that 87% of us have this issue. This is not just post vacation depression, this has to do with catching up on missed work, tons of emails and phone calls we will need to tackle when we are back, fixing other peoples mistakes when we were away and for some of us it simply means that we really hate our jobs.

The internet is full of suggestions on how to deal with this and I have not seen one that said do not go on vacation, so I guess this is part of being an employed adult even if it is an unfortunate one.

Becoming a recovering workaholic.

Recently there has been a Tik Tok going around with a voice over that says – being on vacation is better than being at work. And despite most of us agreeing with this as a matter of principal, some of us, me included, have a hard time disconnecting and enjoying our vacation.
This summer i went on a cruise and as a true workaholic i did pay extra for WIFI access. As life tends to throw us curveballs – the internet was great for the phone, not so much for my laptop! I have to admit that letting go was not easy for me but i made a conscious decision to let go and go to the business center and work. I decided to be present, to let go and enjoy spending time with my family, visited new places and i even read a book or two and enjoyed my coffee in relative peace.
This was not easy for me but it did force me to stop and take a look at how i am living and remind me that we all need to disconnect. I still check my emails during my days off, but i try to limit myself to checking only 3 times a day and not constantly. #business #work #coffee #vacationsareneeded #workholics #familytime