I have learnt repeatedly, which means I am either a slow or reluctant learner of this particular lesson, that I am mentally working on or processing everything that remains outstanding in my work and personal life. The more there is, the more energy it is taking up and often the less powerful, resourceful and effectively drained I feel.
When these in-completes accumulate I tend not to notice until I really notice, if you understand what I mean. My state changes, I am more likely to react to the days events rashly, become irritable or just feel overwhelmed most of the time. If I don’t catch this state change in time, I become physically tired, and the emotional changes mean I feel like anything I do makes little difference to my virtual to-do list, I’m simply not getting anywhere.
Every piece of paper, unopened email, unfinished task, and non-concluded conversation is using up my human RAM. When I reach my own ‘full’ point things change for me.
I also know that when I take action to complete, I regain a more powerful state, am able to gain mental height over what’s going on and experience overview rather than overwhelm. And the action I take isn’t necessarily doing all the tasks, the whole point is life is so busy nowadays it isn’t about ticking every single item off you list, it’s about shifting your attitude and taken inspired action instead of frantic scatter-gun action.
My technique for you to consider today is rather like clicking “control – alt – delete” on a pc to see what processes are running in the background. Often there are unnecessary ‘programmes’ running that I can instantly close and a few that with one step I can switch off too, with others I review my thoughts connected to them and shift my attitude towards them. The impact of this re-boot can sometimes be euphoric, every time moving me to a significantly more resourceful place. And from there I begin again.
In the next few weeks I’ll write about my major reboot, which should be done every year, but first here’s my quick 5-stage reboot or “control-alt-delete” process:
Thought Unload – Sitting silently for a few minutes I allow the spray of thoughts to pour randomly out to paper, writing down everything I think I am thinking about. I may take action on some of these, I may not, just unloading them can be liberating.
Work Area Cleanse – My desk gets cluttered, with urgent, non-urgent, important, unimportant stuff. Increasing my ruthlessness I march through the paper and make instant decisions about every item, bin it, file it, do tomorrow or do this week.
E-mail Purge – In busy phases many emails build up requiring diary decisions or commitments or comment or some kind of response. Another ruthless moment cleans up this volume.
Waiting for Me – Who is waiting for me, expecting something from me, owed something from me? Over the next 7 days I complete with these people, this includes delivering words of thanks, appreciation, gratitude that remain outstanding.
Waiting for You – Who am I waiting for, who owes me, who am I wishing or wanting a word of thanks or gratitude? In truth I cannot control their completion, but I can instantly shift my attitude to the incompletes and cease the draining effect of each. I let go of the expectations and clear them out. If any come in that’s a bonus.
Enjoy stepping up into your powerful resourceful state as you complete this week.
This is so true! When your body is seemingly relaxed, your mind is processing all that mental baggage you carry around with you – “oh i must do this and that and phone him etc”. These thoughts take up your vital currency of energy.
This is great stuff Simon, once again said with great clarity!
keep up the great work
To quote Esther and Jerry Hicks “Nothing is more important than ‘I feel good’”.
When that’s right, thinking tends to follow, then the emotions to go with that thinking, then the actions you take and the results you get. It’s a no brainer really. Good luck Mark.