2020 Issue 4 | GearedUp
54
Overthinking Continued from page 52
The Anchor of Obsession
Let ’ s tackle the obsessive version of overthinking first , which locks you in on one thing and wastes precious workplace productivity by devouring your time and mental resources . If you find yourself nitpicking too much about an issue or idea , you can try several self-discipline tactics to get back on track :
Move forward despite your fear . You might just want to avoid confrontation with someone when you do make a decision . Or perhaps you distrust your ability to come up with a viable answer , perhaps due to a perceived lack of intelligence or education . Instead , borrow the title of a book by Susan Jeffers : “ Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway .” Push past your worries , make a choice , and get on with it .
Distract yourself . To stop thinking about the other issue , find another task to divert your attention and dive in . You can come back to the problem you ’ ve over-thought when your worrying has subsided a bit .
Avoid situations that trigger overthinking . After a while , you ’ ll become familiar with the things that set off your cycles of overthinking , such as beginning an intense conversation with your spouse right before bedtime . Maintain your self-awareness of such situations and avoid them as much as possible .
Talk yourself down . If you allow it , negative self-talk can bring your personal productivity to a screeching halt . Instead of thinking about all that might go wrong and denouncing yourself as a screw-up , imagine all that could go right . Sell yourself to yourself as an outstanding worker , boss , parent or partner .
STOP ! When you find your thoughts running away with you , firmly tell yourself “ Stop !” out loud ( when no one is listening ). Wear a thick rubber band around your wrist , and every time you start overthinking something , snap your wrist with the rubber band to derail that train of thought . Then refocus on something profitable .
Talk yourself down . If you allow it , negative self-talk can bring your personal productivity to a screeching halt .
Excising Excess Ideas
Alternately , you may find yourself drowning in an idea flood , where you ’ ve got too many ideas to choose from and can ’ t easily make the choice . Here are some thoughts to get you started :
Try idea triage . The best way to get more good ideas is to get more ideas , period . So , when brainstorming , throw the filters wide open ! For example , you might pretend you live in a perfect world where you have super powers and could do anything you think about ! Consider any idea that pops into your head . Some of these ideas you ’ d never float otherwise because they simply have no basis in reality . But over-censoring might also shut out viable ideas that the unrealistic ones might spark . As you compile your list , realize you ’ ll undoubtedly toss most of them . Stop when the list becomes unwieldy , step back long enough to take in the big picture — and then get real . Ruthlessly chop away the ideas that seem impossible , too costly , too slow , or otherwise too constraining or excessive . As you do so , you may add a few new ideas that occur to you or combine two or more to form a better solution . Make several passes , cutting ideas each time , until you have a short list you can easily deal with .
Set a time limit . This one goes together with the idea triage concept . Specify a certain amount of time you can spend brainstorming and cut it off instantly when time ’ s up . Then start cutting the idea list itself .
Consult your not-to-do list . Nearly all time management training programs emphasize the value of the To-Do List in its various forms , and you probably use one to guide your daily schedule . But do you keep a Not-To-Do list on hand , too ? As I discuss in my book “ What to Do When There ’ s Too Much to Do ,” this list documents all the things you refuse to do : procrastination , perfectionism , multitasking , etc . Compare your idea list to your Not-To-Do list and remove anything that violates your established rules .
Consider your mission , vision and values . No doubt your organization operates under a specific mission and vision with associated core values . These standards offer another framework to test your ideas against . If they don ’ t fit , kick ’ em to the curb and move on .
Take your existing schedule into account . Even if you come up with an excellent idea , that doesn ’ t mean you ’ ll have time to implement it if you already have too much on your plate . Remember , you want to reduce your schedule to a realistic level . Even an otherwise wonderful idea might have to fall by the wayside if you can ’ t drop something else to implement it , or at least delegate it to someone who can .
Bounce your best ideas off someone . While you may not have time to make a decision by consensus , you can usually use someone as a sounding board . Choose someone you can trust to answer you honestly . Avoid “ Yes ” people and others who ’ ll just tell you what you want to hear . Use their responses to further cull your idea list .
Ideas for Either
Whether you tend to think things to death or simply can ’ t make a decision due to an overabundance of options , overthinking can shut you down like a car stuck in vapor lock . Some strategies can help you equally with either problem :
Seek a quiet place to think . While motion does in fact beat meditation , you first have to choose a mental spot where you can put your boat to sea with minimal risk of dashing it to pieces on the rocks of interruption . Look for somewhere you can hide away for a while — a park bench , an empty conference room , or a library , for example — and focus on making the decision .
Evict the inner critic . If you were a landlord , would you