Wtf is wrong with me after Mat leave?!

[riffraffroff]

Second month back after Maternity leave and my workload is MORE than manageable. But somehow I can't do my job. I WFH which is great for life but not helping me get back into work mode.

I seem to have the attention span of a gnat, can't concentrate, easily bored, forgetful. I'm taking the piss to be quite frankly, and it's really not intentional. Has anyone else found this?

Yes, it took me ages to get back in to the swing of it. Quite honestly, I just couldn't be bothered, I'd enjoyed time off with my babies and simply couldn't be arsed to answer stupid emails or just do my job in general. I've been back (2nd time) for 9 months now and still can't really be bothered but I am doing a better job

I was the same after my second, I was awful at my job and then left to do something else. About a month after that I was diagnosed with PND and anxiety, once I'd started medication I felt a lot better and started working properly again. I went back to my original field of work about 3 years later and I'm back to my typical self. I think it was a combination of the medication (I couldn't focus on anything for long without it) and confidence (I felt less out of my depth the older my children got).
I'm not saying it's PND, I think I would have struggled even without having that, but the time away doing something else really helped my to regain my focus and concentration.

You have changed. Acknowledge that. Now change your work habits.

I used to remember everything. Now I forget most things. I used to not take many notes and if I did I never referred to them. Now I take a lot of notes. They are all bulleted and action oriented. "Agreed with X on X date.. Next steps .. open issues .."

I email summaries of conversations to people so no one can forget what we agreed.

I keep a Sharepoint list with a ref no for each item, which captures every single work item and relevant docs, who asked me to do it. I use the ref nos in email and meeting titles so I can gather and review all info relating to that item. I have built up a SOP store, I link work items back to those docs. I have recurring work set up as meetings in Outlook, with a link to the SOP for that task.

You get the picture!

People are amazed and sometimes critical of how seemingly intense my system is but their opinions are irrelevant. What matters is I'm keeping track of what matters and can perform highly in my role. I've tried a few different systems and this is the best for me. Some people like Onenote, I hate it passionately. I don't criticise them though!

Congratulations on baby and on returning to work! Now take control and make it work for you. Protect your earnings and pension into the future

Yes I really found this too. No concentration, memory or motivation. I was so excited to be back at work and then I really struggled, and I got quite down about it for a while. What helped me was regular breaks, making lots of notes, working to a timer for 15 mins at a time then taking a 5 minute break and also going out for a walk twice a day round the block.

How much sleep are you getting? I was like this and found sleeping at 6pm with the baby definitely helped.

omg this is me. been back for 2 months in a new team and I couldn't care less about the work. I'm so distracted and struggling to put the effort in. i useed to care about doing a good job but now I don't. I think I tend to perform better when there's strict deadlines and a busy environment but working from home isn't really conducive to that. going into the office more than I have to isn't really appealing either with up to a 4 hour daily commute

This was me. No sleep, PND, etc. issues but just couldn't be bothered at all. I solved it by going on mat leave again 😂Hopefully, I'll go back to a different job which I think would help.

I think being out of a job for a year doing something completely different often puts into perspective how pointless much of your job actually is. Working to someone else's timetable, office politics, tasks that don't make sense or don't matter. It's hard to muster the enthusiasm and energy sometimes. Plus the disturbed sleep and getting used splitting your attention doesn't help! Your brain also physically changes after having a child. I think many people struggle after parental leave.

Thank you for being so honest. I thought I'd totally lost it.

Yes I need to get more organised and anxiety and sleep deprivation are both playing a part.

Ultimately I think I'll need to make some big career changes but Im clearly not in the right headspace atm. Think I need to be grateful that things are manageable atm and try to make the most of it.

I'm suffering horribly with the same issues, OP. However, I'm not fresh back from maternity leave, but am smack bang in the middle of a shitty time with the menopause and health concerns of loved ones.

Whilst my GP is supporting me brilliantly and has diagnosed hormone-related anxiety over classic depression, I am doing everything I can myself to try and improve my productivity, memory and motivation (when I can remember). One thing I am starting to see a benefit from I'm sure, is attending sessions of Yoga Nidra and gong immersion therapy. Might be something worth looking into if time permits? These hormones, who knew their power, eh?