Finding head space when the world is in flames!
Training the mind to stay composed
Work can become overwhelming at times.
A blissful morning could very well lead to a stressful evening. The world needs to move forward and time waits for none. On the pursuit to make productivity as our second name, we watch several motivational videos, listen to numerous inspirational podcasts and digest the essence of thought-provoking talks from professionals. Yet it all goes up in smoke when everything goes wrong and not as you imagined.
What do we do now? How to restore order and bid goodbye to chaos? How to hold your ground at hardship when everyone is running away? Let us look sequentially and tackle these questions.
It is not easy.
When your boss screams at you for your poor performance, not everyone has the tough skin to withstand and take the challenge forward. When deadlines clash, it is easy to sleep and hope you wake up from this nightmare.
I can share an instance from my life. July 15 of 2018 was the deadline for my content writing internship, my article for content writing, puzzles for an online competition. My procrastination brought me to this point, and I was thinking of excuses. But then it was the day when my grandmother had a fall and that changed the day. After reaching home after nursing her wounds from the hospital, I was tired and deeply regretted having work. When I procrastinated 2 weeks ago I did under the assumption that everything would proceed smoothly.
That did not happen. I slept super early that day and tried to wake up at 4AM next day morning to have every work done before the supervisors questioned. Not much progress happened due to the headache. Thankfully they were understanding of the situation and gave me deadline extension.
Yet, in this position I felt overwhelmed when the world momentarily changed. It was when I realized that managing crisis is indeed challenging. And looking back I realized this is what I followed:
- Find a space/time away from the fire.
- Try to divert your thoughts away from the noise and find solitude.
- It will take time and practice, but if you can create some head space it will help you stay calm and think.
- When you take deep breathes, it helps you calm your nerves.
- A quite ambiance will additionally help you see clearer what the problem is.
- If you understand the root problem, you can then start thinking for the solution.
- Scribble (neatly) on various solutions you can think of.
- If it concludes with the fact that you are the root problem, forgive yourself. People tend to be hard on themselves and that further makes it difficult to look clearly.
- Decide how to approach the problem. Understand how it could have gone better.
- Get up and dose the flame.
In my case, when I woke up at 4AM and immediately started working, it did not help. I then dim the lights, closed my eyes and started reflecting on the various events that were happening parallel. When I realized the problem was the unexpected responsibility at home and the result of my procrastination, I duly noted it. Then I messaged and informed my supervisors of the problem and requested for the extension. They complied and it helped me solve the issue.
Computers use this mechanism by maintaining exclusive registers to carry out important dedicated actions. We humans can as well draw lines on how to balance work pressure by unlocking that secret head space to think straight.
So next time when your world is on fire, find that secret room, discover the extinguisher and return braver to dose out the fire. Here is a bonus video that might help.
