The other night, a friend of mine described the way she thinks about food as constant chaos in her head.
What a perfect description.
I’ve mentioned before that the inside of my head is like an episode of hoarders. I have this vision of turning sideways to negotiate falling piles of yellowed newspapers from the Reagan administration as I try to remember where the door is.
Then, every time I try to get to a door, there’s a ninja monkey, sitting on a unicorn that is Salsa dancing with a warrior elephant and by the time I’m done refereeing them, I don’t remember why I was at the door in the first place.
All of this takes place under the watchful eye of a one-legged lemur who is playing twister with a rat-tail Irish water spaniel.
You can see where discerning information becomes difficult.
There are any number of things that can get in the way of you achieving your goals and one of them is information - either a lack of - or too much. And in this information heavy world, analysis paralysis happens quickly. We spend our days consuming a Niagra Falls waterfall of information. And if your mind is anything like mine, that information sticks in weird places and clutters much of your decision-making process.
Then throw in a day full of decisions - do I hit the snooze button? Should I wear the socks that have swear words on them or will I cross my legs in that meeting with my boss? Should I tell Carol how much her email yanked my chain?
Decision fatigue is a thing. It’s one of the reasons I’ll never go grocery shopping after a trip to the eye doctor.
But what do we do about all the Noah’s Ark tornado swirling around in our heads?
I’ve rained in my ninja monkey enough to throw out a few suggestions.
1. Grab a pen and do a brain dump.
Mel and I sometimes use this strategy together when we’re at the gym. When we find ourselves so distracted by that water fall of to-do’s, we stop what we’re doing, set a timer for five minutes, and put pen to paper. Often, getting all of those tasks out of your mind and onto the paper can help bring some clarity to help you figure out where to start.
2. Use the 10 minute timer and start.
I’ve written about this before, but one of the best strategies I’ve found to get out of my head and into action is to set a timer for 10 minutes and pick a task. Spend 10 minutes making your grocery list or looking up recipes. Spend 10 minutes answering emails. Pick a task and set a timer. I’m willing to bet you’ll go for longer than 10 minutes and you’ll feel better having done something.
Action breeds motivation. Once you make a decision to take some action, you’d be surprised at how much calmer you’ll feel.
3. Pause.
I’ve written before about what Buddhists call the sacred pause. Choosing moments throughout the day to stop what you are doing, even if it’s only for 30 seconds, and breathing can settle that ninja monkey down just a little bit. If you can, stretch that pause into five minutes of silence - with no distractions.
We numb ourselves with our phones - distraction is constantly at our fingertips, but our brains can be like velcro - we read about current events and even though we think we’re unwinding by sitting for a minute and scrolling through social media, we’re not giving our brains the break they need.
So take a minute right now, and stop what you’re doing. Put the phone down - slide your chair away from your desk, and inhale deeply and exhale slowly.
There. Feel a bit better?
Good.
Now rinse and repeat one more time and enjoy the rest of your day.