Photo credit: https://headspaceefford.wordpress.com/
I’m often repeating my view that in this world of technological immediacy of the internet, emails, texts, direct messaging and other social media in our personal and professional lives where everything is urgent, the reality is that nothing becomes urgent. Where do you start? Which is more important? Do you wait to see who screams loudest and focus on getting them out of the way to shut them up? Do you screen your ‘to-do lists’ and prioritise the tasks that your boss requires first? You need the job and have bills to pay, right? How do we find the ‘headspace’ or thinking time we need to critically review, analyse, prioritise our workload to effectively deliver high quality output?
I’ve found that I work best in an environment in which proactive planning, discipline and efficiency are valued. If there is a task to be achieved, then just get on with it. Avoid procrastinating and make that all important start. This then results in a cycle of having some spare capacity of time and headspace to effectively meet the challenges of the inevitable and unexpected tasks that crop up with a deadline of yesterday. This is the mindset that creates the calmness that then breeds more headspace! Win-win!
My other pearls of wisdom for others in their quest to find some headspace are to accept that we can all get stressed and flustered and that overthinking about being stressed can drain our energy even more. It’s not that we won’t get stressed, we need a level of stress to keep us on our toes. It’s about avoiding situations or people that have the potential to unnecessarily increase our stress levels and anxiety. Mentally accepting the things you cannot change is also highly recommended in finding headspace. Free up our minds for positive thoughts by channeling our energy on tasks that are within our circle of influence.
Another tactic in creating headspace is to ‘under-promise and over-deliver’. This approach takes courage though because as mentioned earlier, we live and work in a world in which results are expected quickly and there is pressure to deliver now! If I’m asked when I can have a task completed, I give myself a buffer period, just in case. For example, I’ll say it will be completed by Friday knowing that I’ve set my own deadline of Wednesday. Achieving it two days early gives my boss confidence that all is under control and I’m on it! (Shhh! don’t tell my boss!).
Weekends also provide a little respite and opportunity to unwind, reflect and plan ahead for the coming week. Spending time with family and friends rejuvenates me and gives me more headspace. Simply priceless. Sometimes you just want to be somewhere where everybody knows your name…Cheers! 😊
Blogging and tweeting, at the weekends in particular, are cathartic for me. These activities give me headspace to be creative. I tweet on any and every thing that could possibly be linked with leading a positive, fulfilling and compassionate life. Throw in some wise minions and colourful pictures that stimulate happiness and acceptance of everyone and that’s my Twitter page.
If we don’t value and then actively seek the headspace we need in our own lives in this fast-paced world, we’ll never have the time and presence of mind to fully appreciate the really important things in life. Will we?
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Nichole McIntosh FRSA 