Mental Thrashing: Eternity

As I was writing my previous post on how mental thrashing kills productivity, I began pondering other ways mental thrashing affects our lives. Intermingled with my confused musings on how to be more productive were thoughts like “What am I really doing with my life?” “How am I contributing to the greater good?” “Where’s the value in what I’m doing?” etc. Any of these sound familiar? It seems to me that these kinds of thoughts are also a form of mental thrashing, so it is of utmost importance that we get them answered and remind ourselves of those answers often. I used the word eternity in the title of this post because the kind of questions aforementioned are more ethereal and tend to stretch beyond our immediate circumstances and even beyond our own person.

The key question of the day is, are people who know what they want, why they do what they do, what value they bring to the world, and where they are headed happier, more productive, and more fulfilled than the average person? Hopefully the answer to this question is obvious to us all. So what can we do to ensure we are one of those people? Here are some of my thoughts. I would love to hear yours as well.

• Truly Acknowledge Your Value – The fact of the matter is that you have intrinsic value. Your very existence guarantees it. You are the only you in the world, therefore no one else can contribute to this world what you can. What you do with your wonderful you-ness is up to you, but this knowledge alone should give us the confidence and launching point necessary to gain the happiness, productivity, and fulfillment we need and deserve. Forgetting, being wishy washy on, or mentally thrashing about this fact will prove most detrimental to our futures.
• Truly Acknowledge That What You Do Matters – I mentioned in another post, we should never ever underestimate anyone’s role. Anyone doubting or belittling the value of a custodian or administrative assistant need only step into their shoes or do without them for a couple of weeks to quickly correct their viewpoint. The fact that what you do matters is another undeniable truth you can bank on and needn’t spend any time wondering or mentally thrashing about. To further strengthen your resolve on this subject, I highly recommend Andy Andrews’ talk on the butterfly effect.
• Truly Understand That the Ultimate Purpose of What You Do is to Benefit Both Yourself and Others – In many of our day-to-day jobs, roles, and responsibilities, it can be very hard for us to see and remember this truth. Try as we might, we cannot come up with things people do that just disappear into nothingness never to be seen or used in some way by some one.

That last one, by the way, is the key to real productivity and fulfillment. That kind of understanding can lead to a kindling or renewal of love for your job/project/interest and breathe new vitality and creativity into what you do and the results will be extraordinary. There is a reason I preceded each of the above points with the word truly. These are not self-help tips or motivational speaking points that can just be heard and forgotten after some initial, feel-good thoughts. They must seep into our being and become part of who we are and what we are doing, never to leave our thought or consciousness for long. Only then can we stop mentally thrashing about our eternal value and do great things.

~ John

Mental Thrashing: Productivity

There are many threats to productivity, but perhaps none so heinous as mental thrashing. Simply put, mental thrashing is a lack of focus due to distractions, an overabundance of choices, feelings of being overwhelmed, uncertainty, and the like. Mental thrashing doesn’t just affect productivity (which is why this is likely to become a series), but it will be the focus of today’s post since it has affected me most of the day and has spawned what is hopefully a train of thought that will help combat it. Even if you haven’t heard the term “mental thrashing” I’m sure you can empathize with me. Let’s take a look at a few examples.

1. Trying Something New – When we take part in something new, we naturally do not know what we are doing. Consequently, we can find ourselves in a confused state of mental lock down. What do I do? When do I do it? What will happen if I do this? Who do I go to? How do I do it? If we allow all of these questions to flood our minds at once without tackling them one at a time, mental thrashing is not far away.
2. Taking on a Complex Project – When the entire house is a wreck, we find ourselves asking, “How in the world am I going to get all this cleaned up?” and then BOOM! we’re eating a pint of ice cream and laying in bed depressed about a lack of time and what horrible house keepers we are…even though the answer to the question was, “One piece at a time.”
3. Making a Decision – There are lots of barriers to making a decision; mental thrashing is just one of them. Mental thrashing happens when you play mental ping pong with pros and cons. What about this? How about that? I like this, but don’t like that. This game can go on forever if you let it because the fact is that there will always be upsides and downsides to every decision.

I have taken on the role of project manager for the implementation of software that will affect a few hundred people in my organization, utilizes a complex methodology consisting of many different work products and deliverables, and involves the coordination of many different people and departments. So you can guess where I got the three examples above…all at once. Now let’s take a look at what we can do about this productivity-robbing menace, starting with our three examples.

1. Build a Knowledge Network or Start Experimenting – In order to cut down on the guesswork and frustration that comes along with mental thrashing of doing something new, we need to find people who have done it before and do some learning. Learning from others’ mistakes is much more efficient than making them yourself unnecessarily. We will still make mistakes, but mental thrashing will be nonexistent and frustration will be at a minimum because we are actually doing something. If what we are doing is truly new where a network is unavailable, then the only thing we can do is experiment. The key is that we accept the risks that come along with the new venture, acknowledge that mistakes will be made (and that it’s okay), and keep working at it.
2. Focus on One Critical Aspect at a Time – On a complex project, it is easy to take a look at the long list of things to get done, get overwhelmed, and do nothing as a result. This is where decomposition and prioritization come into play. Usually projects can be broken down into manageable parts and phases each of which naturally precede or take precedence over others. Once we’ve done this kind of pre-work, it’s just a matter of getting started on each part until reasonably complete. Man, that sounds simple, doesn’t it? Why can’t I remember this all the time?
3. Step Back then Do Something – If we are having trouble with a decision, it is worth backing up and making sure the thing we’re deciding on is even worth the effort. It could be that we are looking at things wrong. Then, if we definitely need to proceed with a decision, then let’s make the best decision with the information we have, knowing that we will never have all of the information we think we need. We’ll just collect sixty to seventy percent of the information and do something one way or the other.

This is definitely not rocket science, but I’m glad I went through this little exercise. Now I think I can get something done. What else causes mental thrashing for you?

~ John

Handling Gaps and Obstacles

I enjoy watching all of the young gymnasts training when I pick up my little girl from her session. The quantity and variety of exercises and practices they utilize is astounding. One technique I have noticed being used frequently is what I call gaps and obstacles. In order to drill proper positioning and timing, the trainer will either put something in the way of the gymnast so she must avoid it in order to perform a technique or the trainer will make a sizable gap between mats that must be traversed.

Imagine that…intentionally placing barriers and creating voids in order to facilitate learning. This technique has more applications than can be espoused here, but there are several that come to mind immediately.

• Parenting: We need to be sure that we are not doing all of the thinking and doing for our kids. Of course we want to be helpful, but allowing them to face and overcome challenges on their own will prove invaluable for the remainder of their lives. The former, on the other hand, will prove most detrimental.
• Teaching: Whether we are teaching kids or adults we cannot try to convey everything about our subject matter (which is impossible anyway). The more learners can infer and assimilate on their own, the better. Rather than honing presentation and speaking skills, perhaps our time as teachers would be better spent developing ways to help others discover and experiment.
• Leading/Managing: It is important for us to be careful not to enable others to depend on us for work and details they should be developing on their own. As much as we would like to, we cannot tell others exactly what to do or do it for them if we want to develop more leaders.

That last point is actually where the rubber meets the road. Of course we do not want to intentionally hinder someone by creating gaps and obstacles, but we can help others acknowledge and address existing ones rather than avoid them or remain blind to them. Here is a challenge and exercise I have found most enlightening. Stop your “normal” work for a moment, diagram what you’re doing and who is involved, and intentionally look for gaps and obstacles standing in the way of reaching your end goal. Not only will you be surprised at the result, but you will be well on your way to making things better.

~ John