25/03/2024
Ahead of World , next week, Harrison College invited me to talk to their Year 1 and Year 2 students this morning about my business, the world of work and my experience of managing my fibromyalgia to enable me to still have a successful, rewarding career.
Some of the tips I left them with were:
- flexible working - using core hours of say 10am till 4pm and flexible working around that to adapt to health needs or caring responsibilities
- hybrid working - a key part of many workplaces this last few years in particular, can again be used to help manage long term health conditions particularly where fatigue is a big issue
- recognise when you are feeling overwhelmed - brain dump journal, take a few minutes out, write down all the things you need to do and then you can see more clearly where you need to prioritise and identify 2/3 tasks you can complete that day
- for sensory issues you can ask to adjust the lighting in the office, go work from a quiet space or meeting room or use ear plugs and white noise to reduce the noise/distractions
- for me planning workloads is important, so when I have super busy day/week's I know the next day/week needs to be lighter to manage my fatigue and other symptoms. For many with auto-immune conditions - ME/CFS, lupus, fibromyalgia, MS - pacing is key and for me planning workloads helps me achieve that (most of the time)
