No, it’s not about cocktails. It’s about feeling exhausted after the “thing”
Have you ever felt exhausted after the “thing”?
After a big meeting, a decision, or a push to get something across the finish line?
It almost feels like a hangover…
or like all the wind just drained out of your sails.
I’ve started calling it the leadership and life hangover.
I feel it after keynotes and workshops… when the rush is over.
There’s relief… and sometimes a weird sense of missing the adrenaline.
Leadership
We’re really good at gearing up.
We prepare for the presentation.
We rally the team for the deadline.
We push through long days, tight timelines, high expectations.
And then… it ends.
And we move right on to the next thing.
No pause. No reset.
Just: What’s next?
The moment after the moment is an opportunity.
During a hangover, it takes a little time to bounce back.
And that time can actually be useful (in a funny, not funny sort of way)… because we’re moving a little slower.
Here’s the trick I use after a big project, a batch of work, or a big push. It’s simple…I call it the 30-minute rule.
I take somewhere between 10–30 minutes to jot down or talk through:
- Amount of effort
- What worked / what didn’t
- If you could do it again, what would you do differently?
- What are you most proud of?
If you skip straight to the next thing, it’s like finishing a race and immediately being told to sprint again.
Technically possible.
Not exactly sustainable.
And more importantly… did you actually learn anything that makes you better next time?
A simple shift I’ve been encouraging leaders to make:
Build in a quick post-push team moment.
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
A quick mention in a team huddle.
A question or two to get people thinking.
Something like:
- “What worked that we want to repeat?”
- “What made this harder than it needed to be?”
- “Where did we see people step up?”
- “What do we need next?”
This isn’t about slowing things down.
It’s about knowing what to keep doing more of… and what to do differently next time.
Because if we want better performance, better engagement, and better consistency…
We can’t skip the part where we turn experience into insight.
Life
This shows up outside of work too.
After a busy week.
After hosting people.
After a big event, a trip, or just a stretch of full days.
There’s often the urge to skip over the recovery and go right to the next thing.
Catch up. Get ahead. Be productive.
I’ve found a quick reset actually makes me more effective.
For me, it usually looks like a 10–30 minute reset (just like after a work project):
- A 10-minute walk
- Sitting quietly on the front porch for a minute
- Sitting in my car for five minutes without music (I literally set a timer)
Doing nothing productive for a few minutes gives my brain time to come down.
It’s how I get my footing back… before I go again.
It’s hard to give ourselves permission and feel like we are not getting everything done, but just a small recharge can make a big difference.
Have Good Ripple Effect,
Lisa