In his book, “Overworked and Overwhelmed”, Scott Eblin shares the following story, which highlights the current reality for many professionals in today’s world: “One workshop participant said that while waiting for his family’s flight to take off for their vacation, his 10-year-old daughter asked, “Daddy, can I see your BlackBerry?” When he gave it to her, she put it in her bag and said, “You can have that when we get back, Daddy.””
Eblin says busy executives must develop “mindfulness“ by being intentional and aware if they are ever going to get off the fight-or-flight treadmill. He states that many executives are burned out due to increased responsibilities and the constant onslaught of technology.
Research sited in this book underscores the problems busy executives, mangers and professionals (EMPs) face:
- Typical EMPs with smartphones found they were interacting with work 72 hours of each 168-hour week, or about 43% of the time. After eating, sleeping and personal hygiene they have only about 24% of their time left for themselves.
- Daily distractions are big de-railers. Interruptions occur every 11 minutes at work, and it takes about 25 minutes to get back to work after an interruption.
He and his wife, Diane, created the “Life GPS” (Life Goals Planning System) model to help EMPs to be the best version of themselves at home, at work and in their community. This is done by setting routines to improve physical, mental and spiritual health and relationships. Individuals need mindfulness in order to have stronger relationships, less stress and better health.
What is mindfulness? Eblin defines it as follows; mindfulness = your awareness + your intention. Awareness is being conscious of the 2 stimuli that interfere with your thinking: external and internal.
Eblin says too many professionals step on the gas all the time, which leads to health issues like higher blood pressure, heart disease, anxiety, infections and cancer. They need to learn to balance their use of the accelerator(sympathetic nervous system), and the brake (parasympathetic nervous system) at the right times.
The Life GPS model helps you:
- Recognize the characteristics and behaviors that reflect your “best version of yourself“
- Identify your peak performance
- Pursue your life’s purpose and develop strong relationships to help you achieve it
- Create easy-to-implement routines that nourish your health in these categories…
- physical
- mental
- relational
- spiritual
Warnings
- Don’t play against your strengths – one of the biggest factors that interferes with being at your best. Your strengths can become weaknesses if you don’t delegate your opportunities. Give them to your team. This will give your teammates the opportunity to shine.
- Don’t leave out spirituality – Eblin says this is a foundational element to the Life GPS because it is focused on the bigger picture: “What am I here on Earth to really do?” Regardless of what your religious background is, your life’s purpose cuts across all aspects of your life.
- You can develop your spiritual side by using any combination of…
- reflection
- gratitude
- visual focal points
- reading
- journalling
- regular prayer or meditation – start the day with making a list of what you’re thankful for before getting out of bed
- You can develop your spiritual side by using any combination of…
Eblin says you must take some time to get alone in a quiet place and write downyour answers to the following 3 questions, for each of these 3 categories… …home, work, community:
- How are you at your best? (example: How are you at your best when you’re at home? At work? In your community?)
- What routines reinforce that you are at your best?
- What outcomes do you hope for?
“Do’s” for solving the “overworked, overwhelmed” syndrome:
- Take inventory/time study on how you actually spend your time
- Find your rhythm, so you can do the right work when you’re at your best – when you’re at your peak energy
- Consider handling emails at strategic times – better in the morning or the afternoon for you?
- Set specific hours for mundane tasks
- Schedule time for unfiltered thinking to spark creativity
- Eat healthier to develop better nutrition habits
- Make time for the important people in your life
- Identify the mental chatter/negative thoughts and give it a name so you can identify it when it raises it’s ugly head….train your brain to identify these thoughts
- Set boundaries to protect your life and clearly know where the lines are
- Establish routines to promote good physical, mental, relational and spiritual health
“Don’t’s” for avoiding the the “overworked, overwhelmed” syndrome:
- Stay in one place too long – just moving around a little…
- decreases stress hormones
- refreshes thinking
- contributes to productivity and confidence
- neglect sleeping...
- get 7 to 8 hours
- go to bed and wake up at scheduled times, even on weekends.
- Limit food and drink within two or three hours of going to sleep.
- As bedtime nears, avoid electronic screens and don’t work out.
- Keep your bedroom quiet, cool and dark.”
- say yes to everything – the quickest way to feeling overwhelmed
- learn to say “no” without guilt
- work at stuff you’re not wired to do good at
Eblin challenges his readers to be the best kind of listener – the “transformational” listener. Which type are you? Which one do you want to be?
- Transient – always distracted or thinking about the next move
- Transactional – you develop real connections with others to accomplish your goals
- Transformational – you observe nonverbal cues and recognize the value of silence, which give you time to think…the kind of listening you want to schedule with those you care the most about….your goal is replace the fight-or-flight mode with “being present.”
How to make it all work:
- Stay with your routines, but give yourself permission to make mistakes
- Be patient with yourself – may take time to analyze which routines work best for your natural rhythms
- Schedule routines that reinforce your most important goals
- Recruit your friends to help you – let them help you with accountability
My favorite quotes from the book:
- “You have permission to quit seeking that holy grail of perfect balance.”
- “Establishing a routine of responsiveness – even if it’s just to say, ‘I got your message and will get back with you later in the week,’ is a classic example of treating others the way you’d like to be treated.”
- “Routines of mindfulness can help you greatly improve your overall well-being if you already have a health issue.”
- “Instead of seeking balance, try finding a rhythm instead.”
(To purchase the book click here: http://www.amazon.com/Overworked-Overwhelmed-The-Mindfulness-Alternative/dp/1501200828)
Bill Edmonds is an Executive Coach and Consultant who works with leaders to help them reach their full potential by specializing in areas of organizational and personal development. He spent 24 years in leadership with Merrill Lynch until his retirement in 2014, where he lead a $100+ million per year revenue business unit as a Director with the firm.
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