Why being busy all the time is a mistake and how to fix it

The work never ends. We rush from one meeting to another, run to meetings with colleagues and bosses, go to important dinners, and then return home and collapse into bed exhausted. In between marathons, we constantly check email and social media and respond to messages. It seems that such a pace is justified and is in our favor. Actually this is not true.

What are the disadvantages of permanent employment

The main problem is that we do not have a minute to stop and think about what we are doing. We are always busy and do not even realize what exactly we are working on and what we are devoting time to. That is why it is so important to take breaks during the day.

A short pause allows us to make sure that we are solving the right problems. Otherwise, you can burn out, get confused, or even fail a meaningful project. Self-analysis, on the contrary, helps to redistribute forces in time and rebuild, if necessary.

How to deal with permanent employment

Spend time in silence and reflect

To do this, you can use the techniqueJohari's window». It helps you better understand your relationship with yourself and others. The essence of the method is to analyze four zones:

• Open area. It includes everything that you and others know about you. For example, you consider yourself kind and others agree with you.
• Hidden zone. It contains your secrets. Let's say you know that you are a shy person, even though no one even suspects it.
• Blind area. These are characteristics that are obvious to your environment, but you yourself do not notice them. For example, all your friends call you amorous, but you don’t see it point-blank.
• Unknown zone. It includes character traits that are not known to you or other people and appear in certain situations. For example, you never considered yourself responsive, but during the crisis you gave a significant part of your savings to help those in need.

The Johari Window is a very fun exercise that gives a person the opportunity to look at himself from a different angle. Particular attention should be paid to the blind zone - it needs a healthy reflection.

When we take a break to write down our thoughts in a journal or call friends, we open up an inner space for introspection. Switching the phone to silent mode is not difficult - it is difficult to calm your mind. Regular breaks allow you to pause the world for at least a few minutes.

But such a pause is not needed in order to make even more decisions. On the contrary, it should help you step back from it and avoid decision fatigue. Give your brain a chance to rest and reflect. Separating from work, tasks and responsibilities will allow you to take a step back and look at yourself from the outside.

Imagine yourself from the future

This is another great exercise. Imagine yourself in a couple of years. You are in great shape. You have much more free time. You don't spend every minute on your phone. You don't check email and social media at the first opportunity. You are incredibly efficient and productive.

Every self-development tip repeats the same formula: you will succeed if you follow a certain process. Your habits will lead you to predictable results. Of course, this process, purposefulness, self-development, useful activities - all this is needed. But we forget to ask ourselves one important question: why?

Stop and analyze your desires and goals. Consider where they are taking you and what kind of person you will be when it all comes to fruition. Look at routine like a car. Is he taking you on the right route? Most often, the right direction is simply to stop doing many things.

Stop analyzing everything

It is natural for us to pass all incoming information through ourselves. During conversations, we constantly analyze the behavior of other people - evaluate them, pay attention to their language of the body and mood in search of clues. And we constantly construct emotional behavioral models. As a result, we are always in the “on” mode.

For example, you and your partner are discussing how your day went over dinner. Meanwhile, your brain is trying to predict what your interlocutor will say. In essence, you are constructing a model of a partner in your mind. As a result, the brain works out not only the conversation itself, but also your emotional state, and at the same time predicts what the other person will say, whether his remarks will be true or not, as you are on them react. Not surprisingly, the internal "battery" begins to discharge quickly.

In addition, we go over and over in our minds daily about our emotional footholds. How do others see us? How realistic is their vision? Building emotional models is a way not only to understand yourself, but also to get an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bother people: who they are or who they want to be and how this relates to us. If all this seems too complicated, welcome to the reality called "Being Human".

That is why it is necessary to be conscious about breaks. Being human is exhausting! We are constantly striving to find meaning in different events. Our internal "antennas" are always picking up signals, trying to figure out what others are thinking. We need pauses to deal with all this pressure. Your phone needs to be recharged, and the same goes for your brain.

Taking a step back from tasks will help you look at them with fresh eyes and see how much they are worth your time and effort. Being responsible for things does not mean being obsessed with them. Sometimes they just need to be put aside.