From your pal at the learning center - Yup. Yup. Yup. My to do list is now called a dashboard - but at the end of the day, you have give your body rest to recharge and it is okay to say I have done enough today. On Wednesday, after several weeks without a break my brain was DONE. I'm still over tapped. So, keep finding ways to recharge. I have a puppy on loan coming this weekend (!!!). Lighten your cognitive load with that to do list and KEEP F-ing GOING. (and let me know if you need a fuzz therapist, Mae is with us for about 10 days...) - This is not a marathon but an ultra.
The one habit that keeps me sane is: Write Everything Down. Giving up the delusion that I could remember things-- dates, todos, facts, etc-- was so freeing. Even (or maybe especially?) for the important ones! A little bit productivity process here paid huge dividends for me.
Yes, 100%! I realized after some reflection this weekend that part of the problem (apart from too many commitments) is that I was playing with some of my "capture" tools (including trying to use Outlook tasks to capture tasks) and ended up with multiple competing systems. I think for right now I'm going back to a single pad of paper plus my inbox as my basic task capture tools. I'll still have my broader strategic plan guiding big picture work, but these little tasks are slipping and sliding all over the place and taking up cognitive space.
On a related note, I've found the concept of "cognitive load" really helpful in identifying friction points. I'm sure this is something you think about all the time in your work. But it's another reason writing things down is such an obvious but necessary step.
Sending a slightly tired wave back in your direction. Exhausting as the political news is, I find Inbox overwhelm can be one of the most acute panics. Hope you get some inbox-triage time soon, not to mention an extra bit of sleep.
I spent a bunch of the weekend (not something I usually do) getting the inbox under control and wrangling my to-do list and it REALLY helped.
It's definitely true that not knowing what's lurking in the inbox is a more serious cause of overwhelm for a lot of people (me included) than the work that actually needs to be done.
I'm really enjoying learning about this 4D framework thing. I'm realizing that I am prone to 1D (or what I think of as black-and-white) thinking. Even though I consider myself to be an empathetic and intelligent person overall, I also have high anxiety. Unfortunately, anxiety causes me to immediately revert to my 1D-thinking tendencies. This has been especially tough lately because the current political discourse is highly anxiety-inducing for me. After some relationship upheaval this week I went to a therapy appointment and we talked about ways to reduce anxiety (more sleep, more exercise, limit news consumption, get off social media, cut caffeine) so I'm hopeful that those changes will make a difference for me and allow me more space to explore a radically moderate viewpoint. I 100% love the idea of a brain dump-- my brain is constant ticker-tape reel and if I don't get it out and down on paper it will just keep going and going...
I'm so glad it's been helpful and/or enjoyable! Anxiety definitely pushes us into fight or flight mode, which encourages binary thinking/1D thinking. Now that you mention it I'm wondering if there's a virtuous cycle we could work to develop. 4D thinking (in my experience) helps manage anxiety, but managing anxiety (through the tools you've mentioned, for example) may also help encourage 4D thinking. This is probably obvious to most therapists, but not necessarily to political theorists like me. Worth playing with a bit more on my end.
From your pal at the learning center - Yup. Yup. Yup. My to do list is now called a dashboard - but at the end of the day, you have give your body rest to recharge and it is okay to say I have done enough today. On Wednesday, after several weeks without a break my brain was DONE. I'm still over tapped. So, keep finding ways to recharge. I have a puppy on loan coming this weekend (!!!). Lighten your cognitive load with that to do list and KEEP F-ing GOING. (and let me know if you need a fuzz therapist, Mae is with us for about 10 days...) - This is not a marathon but an ultra.
I have two fuzz therapists and they definitely help! Though puppies are even better. Mine are bigger now.
Love it!
The one habit that keeps me sane is: Write Everything Down. Giving up the delusion that I could remember things-- dates, todos, facts, etc-- was so freeing. Even (or maybe especially?) for the important ones! A little bit productivity process here paid huge dividends for me.
Yes, 100%! I realized after some reflection this weekend that part of the problem (apart from too many commitments) is that I was playing with some of my "capture" tools (including trying to use Outlook tasks to capture tasks) and ended up with multiple competing systems. I think for right now I'm going back to a single pad of paper plus my inbox as my basic task capture tools. I'll still have my broader strategic plan guiding big picture work, but these little tasks are slipping and sliding all over the place and taking up cognitive space.
On a related note, I've found the concept of "cognitive load" really helpful in identifying friction points. I'm sure this is something you think about all the time in your work. But it's another reason writing things down is such an obvious but necessary step.
Sending a slightly tired wave back in your direction. Exhausting as the political news is, I find Inbox overwhelm can be one of the most acute panics. Hope you get some inbox-triage time soon, not to mention an extra bit of sleep.
I spent a bunch of the weekend (not something I usually do) getting the inbox under control and wrangling my to-do list and it REALLY helped.
It's definitely true that not knowing what's lurking in the inbox is a more serious cause of overwhelm for a lot of people (me included) than the work that actually needs to be done.
I'm really enjoying learning about this 4D framework thing. I'm realizing that I am prone to 1D (or what I think of as black-and-white) thinking. Even though I consider myself to be an empathetic and intelligent person overall, I also have high anxiety. Unfortunately, anxiety causes me to immediately revert to my 1D-thinking tendencies. This has been especially tough lately because the current political discourse is highly anxiety-inducing for me. After some relationship upheaval this week I went to a therapy appointment and we talked about ways to reduce anxiety (more sleep, more exercise, limit news consumption, get off social media, cut caffeine) so I'm hopeful that those changes will make a difference for me and allow me more space to explore a radically moderate viewpoint. I 100% love the idea of a brain dump-- my brain is constant ticker-tape reel and if I don't get it out and down on paper it will just keep going and going...
I'm so glad it's been helpful and/or enjoyable! Anxiety definitely pushes us into fight or flight mode, which encourages binary thinking/1D thinking. Now that you mention it I'm wondering if there's a virtuous cycle we could work to develop. 4D thinking (in my experience) helps manage anxiety, but managing anxiety (through the tools you've mentioned, for example) may also help encourage 4D thinking. This is probably obvious to most therapists, but not necessarily to political theorists like me. Worth playing with a bit more on my end.