overwhelm

REFLECTION:  Remember Goldilocks? I’m pretty sure you do. But just in case it’s been a while, here’s a ten second refresher. While strolling through the woods one day, GL waltzed into the the empty Three Bears abode and made herself at home. Chair? Too big. Too small. Just right. Porridge? Too hot. Too cold. Just right. Bed? Too hard. Too soft. Just right. The TB’s eventually returned to surprise GL, who leaped from Baby Bear’s bed and ran from the house.

Now, while I don’t condone Break & Enter or advise helping yourself to other people’s stuff, I think Goldilocks was on to something in her search for ‘Just Right’.

What, exactly, can we learn from GL about the challenges of stress in life and work? Don’t blindly accept what you stumble across first? Keep testing and experimenting till you find something that fits?

In my work with clients, I hear a lot about the problems of overloading – too much work, too many demands, too little time. For others, underloading triggers its own set of problems – pointless busywork, feelings of uselessness, time weighing heavy. Rightloading – that ‘just right’ solution – is a tricky place to find. (more…)

REFLECTION: You’re working away – head down – afterburners aflame. You’ve been making great progress and, blessedly, the interruptions have been few. Still, after an hour and a half or so, you start feeling restless. Your attention begins to wander. And, you find yourself becoming a touch irritable and impatient.

Why are you having trouble with focus when the stars are aligned for work? It could be your internal body rhythms clamoring for your attention.

The human body isn’t built for nonstop high performance. We do a better job of maintaining energy over the long haul when periods of focused concentration are offset by time out for renewal.

There are parallels in other life situations. For example, a race car driver’s success depends on fast, high speed performance on the track. But an equally important part of that racer’s success is knowing when to pull off the track and into the pit for adjustments and repairs. Ignore, postpone or cancel the pit stops, and the race is lost.

Top performers in all kinds of fields tend to work in approximately 90 minute cycles – sprints if you will. They shift back and forth between periods of intense effort offset by periods of purposeful renewal. (more…)

REFLECTION: Earlier this year, I wrote about the value of ‘Getting Out There’ – making time to spend a few minutes or a few hours in nature. My last Pause message in September touched on the struggle between getting ‘things’ done and taking time for a walk. It’s not my intention to turn into a broken record on this subject. However, two events have inspired one more commentary on the impact of walking on well being.

First, a personal experience. We spent the last two weeks exploring New York City and cruising the coast of New England and the Maritimes. For all its cabs and subways, NYC is a walking city. And walk we did. If we’d had a pedometer, I’d give you a reading. But we didn’t, so I can’t.

What I can tell you is that it’s a long way from Uptown Central Park to the Financial District at the south end of Manhattan. Our soles covered most of that territory – some of it repeatedly. (I loved Central Park.) We stayed on the 6th floor of a Midtown Manhattan hotel, and other than using the elevator to haul luggage on arrival and departure, we took the five flights of stairs to and from our room – often several times a day.

As for the cruise, our cabin was mid-level in the ship. (more…)

REFLECTION: As I write this, it’s mid morning Monday. At 6:30 a.m, I debated with myself whether I could actually spare the time to take my morning walk along the river. When life gets busy, you’ve maybe had similar conversations with yourself from time to time!

The situation for me is that Tuesday I’m headed to Vancouver for a business conference that will take up the rest of this week. I return to Saskatoon in time to attend a friend’s memorial service, empty my suitcase, and repack for a two week fall vacation get-away. A flurry of pre-travel tasks is queued up on the to-do list; and before I leave I need to take care of the final prep for a series of programs I’m booked to deliver on the heels of my return.

In the end, habit won the debate. I laced up my sneakers and headed for the trail. Here’s how things unfolded from there. (more…)

An earlier Pause e-zine posting invited people to share their travel tips for staying well and healthy on the road. Here are the ideas shared so far by Pause readers. Hope they make your life on the road a bit easier to manage.

Carla T writes: I wanted to share a tip for travelers who are trying to find a healthy balance.  When I am going to be at a conference or meetings for a few days, I try to book a hotel with a kitchenette.  I do the grocery shopping on the first evening and make easy healthy meals instead of eating out at a restaurant every evening.  Most restaurants serve portion sizes 2-3 times larger than what people need and it is harder to find healthier choices at many restaurants.   (more…)

REFLECTION: Knowing that I do a fair bit of travel in my work as a conference speaker and seminar facilitator, a Pause reader recently wrote to ask me to share a few helpful travel hints.

Specifically, she wanted ideas for maintaining a healthy balanced rhythm of work and renewal when you are far away from your everyday routines and supports.

If you find yourself on the road from time to time – or frequently, for that matter – you might find some of these ideas helpful, too. If the challenges of travel aren’t part of your world, pass this message along to your trekking friends and colleagues.

ACTION: Seven tips for staying well on the go: (more…)

I’m guesting this week on CAPS colleague, Merge Gupta-Sunderji’s, leadership blog – Turning Managers Into Leaders. Check out three great tips in the article: Help Your People Get Better At Managing Their Workloads.

REFLECTION: For some time now, I’ve been writing and speaking about the impact of overload and overwhelm in our lives and workplaces. We’re all familiar with the near term impact of overload – feeling crunched for time and stretched in capacity. Still, when overload is only a temporary situation, we tend to adapt and work around it.

Problems arise when overload moves from a temporary to chronic state. Chronic overloading drains energy, saps productivity, cripples capacity and poisons relationships.

So, how do we avoid that chronic state and those miserable outcomes? Downloading, uploading and offloading don’t always bring relief. What will make a difference is moving towards rightloading™. Rightloading™ engages minds, encourages hearts, energizes bodies and builds spirit at work and beyond. (more…)

REFLECTION: If you had some time off over the summer, chances are you returned to the workplace feeling a bit more relaxed and at ease. If the work that piled up in your absence hasn’t kicked the stuffing out of your mellow, you may be wondering how you can hang on to a bit more of that zen-like calm as the fall revs up.

Could be that the person working next to you or just down the hall shares the very same concern. Here’s where it make sense to team up to calm down. (more…)

I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING … what kind of photos I received in response to the invitation to ‘Send Me Your Smiles’. Well, as it turns out, some fabulous ones! It was great fun working them into a short upbeat inspirational video. Check out ‘Sunny Smiles‘ and pass the link along.

REFLECTION: Last day of August. First day of September. Summer transitions to autumn.

I’m looking at the list of projects I’d planned to tackle over the summer months when my business is typically slower. Truth be told, I’ve made a dent, but not moved mountains. Research, redesign, product development. Yep, progress on all those fronts. But nowhere near what I apparently anticipated in those more optimistic, summer stretching out ahead of you, early days of July. Maybe you find yourself in the same situation – with merely a dent in work related tasks or home and family projects.

Frustrating? Somewhat. Discouraging? Only mildly. You see, one of the things I’ve learned so far in life is that my ambitions always have and always will exceed my time and energy. That’s just the way it is.

On the other hand, there were so many things that never appeared on the ‘To Tackle’ list in the first place that have contributed to two memorable summer months. Visits with sisters. Connections with friends and neighbors. Mentoring chats with ‘just beginning’ colleagues. Time with my folks at the farm. Adventures with my grandson, my husband, my children. Hours in the company of watercolors. Moments in the garden, along the river, appreciating the great outdoors.

The contrast speaks to the balancing act between making a living and making a life. (more…)