Tag: Reflection

Sunday Scribble #16: Taking time off to sleep is totally worth it

Pheladi SethusaLeave a comment

This is how I know I am indeed 35.

’m typing this post after another languid, candlelit bath, with a hydrating face mask on and a cup of hibiscus tea steeping towards perfection, as indicated by its deep purple hue. I am undoubtedly the most peaceful, calm and well-rested version of myself because I just came back from a trip where I spent an entire week sleeping my way towards that state.

Picture it: I had just narrowly escaped the 3-degree, wet and grey weather that assaulted Johannesburg in mid-August and a short four-and-a-half-hour flight carried me to an island that lies to the east of South Africa. Within minutes of landing, I had to dig into my carry-on to fish out a small handheld fan to fight off the humid, 26-degree weather that greeted me. I was in Mauritius for work, attending the annual AJEN Roundtable to be precise. This would be the fifth one I attended, and the ‘worker’ in me only ever tacked on a day or two post-conference to ‘see’ the countries we found ourselves in (Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda so far). Always rushing back to my normal routine, and the deadlines and students that ‘needed’ me. This year was the first time I said, you know what, no, let’s not do that again.

So, uncharacteristically, but very much in the spirit of slowing down and savouring my life a bit more, I tacked on not two but seven days of leave post-conference to enjoy the island and some much needed alone time. In another surprise move, I planned nothing. No walking tours. No trips to the market. No museum passes. No dinner reservations. Nothing. I wanted to rest. Truly rest. Not in stolen naps, a singular spa treatment, or a once off lie in. I had never been on a trip like that. I am usually the type of traveller that packs in as many activities as possible, operating from what I now recognise as a slight scarcity mindset. The idle hours reminders of the fact that I might never be here again and I needed something to show for the time that I was there. Not this time.

One of the adult-only areas at Club Med Albion, can safely say I spent 70% of my trip on these loungers. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa

This time, I dropped some big girl money and booked myself into an all-inclusive resort. Knowing that I wanted my only decision-making to be what I would be wearing, eating and how much I would be sleeping on any given day. Anyone who knows me knows I love sleep. It’s one of my favourite things to do. I need a minimum of eight hours to be okay and feel at one with my body. The working week doesn’t consistently allow for that, however, which is why I was so desperate for a couple of days in a row that would guarantee uninterrupted, non-alarm-induced waking, sleep. And this solo vacation allowed me to do just that – sleep whenever I wanted, whether on a lounge chair, beach towel or my actual bed for the week. The freedom to do as little or as much as I wished at any given moment, a rare and luxurious treat. Changing my mind mid-walk or mid-meal about something, a decision with no knock-ons or elaborate discussions that can come with group trips. This was also my first genuine solo vacation overseas, which offered a tranquillity I had never experienced before.

Not being rushed is the thing I walked away with as a new truth about myself. I loved having the freedom to blow off going to breakfast if I felt like I was moving faster than I needed to while getting ready for it. Or not hitting snooze, but turning my alarm off completely and sleeping for however much longer I needed. Or skipping a planned event because squeezing a quick shower and change into the 30-minute window between now and then just seemed unnecessary. These small acts solidified how dysregulating being rushed is to me. I actually hate it and doing it forces me to move at a tempo that betrays what I imagine is my natural rhythm. Which is why I like arriving early to things; ordinarily, I would rather mill about or just sit and let my mind wander for some time, instead of stumbling into my plans, with a racing mind and an elevated heart rate.

The trip also reminded me of one of the most impactful podcast episodes I have ever listened to, Rest for Them on Nocturne. An episode with the Nap Ministry’s Tricia Hersey, whose work reinforces the fact that rest is not a reward we earn, but a human right we should all have more consistently than we do. The episode found me during the pandemic, and I really think it helped shift my brain chemistry in a lasting way. Overwork is not something I exalt as a result, and I actively work against it when I can. She helped me begin the unravelling of conflating what I do with who I am. And I guess the way I got to rest on this trip served as an example of what the pinnacle of real rest looks and feels like. To more. To much more.

The Newsroom 6.0

Pheladi SethusaLeave a comment

Well somehow between exhaustion and a coma induced by sheer laziness I didn’t post a “newsroom update”  from last week – a thousand apologies to the five of you that do read this blog.

Last week was meant to be one of our most hectic weeks in the newsroom as we were publishing a twelve page edition. Yet somehow, it turned out to be one of our calmer weeks– especially on production day. Things went swimmingly, we even – wait for it – sent the paper in to the printers on time (give or take 10 minutes). Something which apparently hasn’t been done in the Vuvu newsroom for about two years.  Yay us!

I have trouble remembering anything that happened over the ppast seven days, so I can’t remember much else from that week besides the fact that we did joPs (no, that is not a typo, just a #balcktwitter reference).

Okay on to events I can remember – this past week we had news conference as usual, a very rushed one was had but we all had something to bring to the proverbial table.  We then had guest speaker Gilbert Marcus in to teach us a thing or two about the courts. He taught us the basic ins and outs of courts in SA.

After which we all had to scurry off to get our stories started. I went in the opposite direction and helped out with a video vox –  just find them so fun. The question we posed was about female condoms, we got amazing responses from Witsies.

Later that evening I had an interview on Life Beats, a show on VoW FM. The topic up for discussion was social media – how I use it in my personal and professional life mainly. Luckily I was joined by my friend and colleague Shandukani Mulaudzi and we had a ball just speaking our minds. The host said we had been the most entertaining guests they had had on air in a while.  I really enjoyed being on radio, it may be something I want to pursue now.

On Tuesday morning we went through to watch proceedings at Constitutional Court. It was great being there while something was actually happening, as opposed to just taking pictures outside as I had done before. We went in preparation for court week – which starts tomorrow. We just wanted something we could compare the High Court and Magistrates Court to. Those attorneys and advocates know their stuff, it was interesting listening to them make their arguments.

The week from there on was pretty much down hill, I felt super busy every day but I wasn’t really doing anything. Both of my stories fell off the diary because of late responses from sources but it’s chilled guess it gives us (me) more time to get a better story together.

The only piece of myself I managed to get in the paper was a deep caption of Mfundi Vundla. Come production day it was back to the same 8 pager chaos that we are accustomed to. I was production manager again and this week was surprisingly more challenging than last week.

But as always we made it somehow and luckily we got the rest of that day off, which gave me a chance to catch up on much needed sleep. As a mentioned earlier Court Week starts next week, 8am to 6pm days – I can’t wait!

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To tweet or not to tweet…

Pheladi SethusaLeave a comment

…that is the question.


Okay I lie, there is no question – I just like drama. I have to tweet, scrap that – I need to tweet. I just need to do it differently to how I have been.

We had a class on the how to tweet, when to tweet and what to tweet by our social media lecturer Dinesh Balliah. She presented the lesson to us with an impressive PowerPoint presentation. It made me realise how important twitter is as a social media tool.

Not to say I never thought about it like that, but I never considered how it can empower tweeps, journalists in particular. The gist of the presentation looked at the fact that social media is no longer just about chatting to your mates and discussing the mundane. Social media is now used as a platform to disseminate vital information – sharing video’s, link’s and photo’s that focus on hard news and issues, as and when they happen. Beyond that getting to engage meaningfully with a diverse range of people. As opposed to the ins and outs of little Hannah’s fifth birthday party or the very particular description of that morning’s breakfast.

Social media, if used wisely can essentially “make” you as a journalist. Even though twitter in particular has the power of launching people into (sometimes) illusory prominence. It’s not to say that journalists don’t have legit followers, who largely follow them based on the content of their tweets rather than pure popularity.

By the end of the lesson I was questioning how I have been using twitter for the past two years. That night I had a look through my archive and I realised that my 30k tweets are mostly annoying. There is a lot of whining and whingeing – some of which is funny but a lot of it isn’t.  I imagine it an irksome experience going through my TL. Especially when I was in a particularly good/bad mood – I felt it my duty to inform the world, ALL THE TIME (see what I mean). However, most of them are informative and go beyond the purely personal.

I guess this whole post has been a roundabout way of saying I need to change my tweeting habits. If not for my not-so-distant career, for the sanity of my followers. I won’t go as far as creating a personal account and a seperate professional one.I already manage four blogs, two facebook pages and three email accounts amongst other things. I could not possibly add a new twitter profile to the lot. Along with this I am deeply devoted to my twitter as is, it just screams Pheladi through and through.

I will attempt to tastefully and strategically mix the personal and the professional. It might be a challenge but I’m sure I’ll manage.