It’s A Trap……Don’t Get Caught!!
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
Last week, I talked about the ‘Always On’ virus that has crept into our work places. This week I wanted to continue that discussion to suggest some tools to help you navigate our changed work and life environments.
Our mind loves variety and distraction. Modern technology with email, social media and other forms of communication provides the ultimate variety-buzz for our minds. Have you ever started reading a newsletter on a topic that you are passionate about and found yourself exploring something totally different – maybe your next holiday plans? The newsletter triggered your interest in one topic that led to another topic, to another etc etc. Your mind went on the ultimate mind wander through the kaleidoscope of the internet.
There would have been pictures and maybe even videos with cool music and lots of movement. It may have included seeing where your good friends in another country have gone hiking which made you yearn to visit them as well as discover what they are experiencing.
Then, we are working in open offices where we can hear conversations that peak our interest or start us thinking about our own personal problems.
Suddenly, you remember your to-do list and you start beating yourself up for being distracted. You wonder why you don’t have the willpower to stay focused. You become tense and anxious about being able to finish what you need to complete.
Stomach churning, shoulders tense and shallow breathing are your body’s response to your anxiety. Because your shoulders are tense your neck becomes tight which leads to a headache. Shallow breathing reduces oxygen to the body and mind so suddenly, you feel tired and lack energy.
Now, the absolutes creep in. You feel like you are never going to be able to finish everything you need to do and your mind swirls from one task to another. You feel that you must keep doing and doing to catch up. Aaahhhh!!!
Yes, it’s a trap. The ‘Always On’ virus has infected you.
What do you do to change this? The first thing is cut yourself some slack. No, I didn’t say – Let’s get another cup of coffee. Caffeine may be the worse choice.
Perhaps, your best option is to take a 10-minute mindful walk, calming your breathing and letting go the anxiety. Accept that you are human. I call a mindful walk a sensory walk. On my sensory walk, I take my time to enjoy every human sense that I have while I walk – what can I see, what smells are there, what can I hear or taste and what about touch. It’s amazing when the mind centres on our body how calm it becomes. It’s amazing how self-compassion can be energising. The brain loves physical exercise too.
The second step is acceptance and awareness. Accept that your mind loves to wander as well as be aware when you might be tempted away from the task at hand eg open your emails, go to another website on a different topic etc.
I have a pen and paper next to me when I’m trying to focus on a task. When I become distracted or think of something I’m supposed to do, or I’m attracted to an idea that I like, I write the points down to come back to later. It’s amazing how that simple step of noting down my distraction frees up my mind to come back to the task at hand.
The third step is to plan your day, where possible, around your physical and mental strengths and challenges. Some examples – if you need to be creative and come up with new ideas, allocate some quiet time at home to gather your thoughts before going into the noisy and busy office. If you have a tricky and emotional meeting after lunch, don’t have a high carbohydrate lunch that is going to drain your physical energy. Alternatively, schedule the tricky meeting for when you are going to be at your best physically, mentally and emotionally.
Leaders often have lots of crisis things happen in a day – allow for this in your daily schedule. Have a crisis block in your calendar. If there aren’t any crises some suggestions for what you can do to fill this block are connect with your team on a more personal level, take a walk, spend time visioning the future. I’m sure you can think of lots of things to fill the time!
Lastly but not least, turn off all your distractors where you can. Don’t have physical and sound alerts on your computers or smart devices. Only open your email when you have planned to spend a chunk of time dealing with them. Choose to only look at your smart devices at various times in the day unless you are expecting an urgent message.
This isn’t an exhaustive list. You need to find what works for you. We are all unique. I discovered this with my daughter. She suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder. Strangely, some people who suffer from this disorder need noise to think whereas I need quiet.
My last comment is that it may be that the ‘Always On’ virus has become part of our status. It’s become a symbol of our importance. The cry you hear a lot is “I’m sooooo busy!” Check-in that you haven’t made this catch-cry something to make you stand out from the crowd. If you have, you will always find “busy”.
Have fun discovering what works for you to avoid the trap of the ‘Always On’ virus.
A good resource is a book by Josh Davis – Two Awesome Hours, Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time & Get Your Most Important Work Done.
The discussion about sustainability of energy is built into my Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Program.
My next program is scheduled for 9th and 10th August 2018. Please contact me to discuss.
Always happy for comments too.
