Tidying Up: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

[Lord777]

How to get things in order without losing your composure
Getting Things Done (GTD) is about thinking about the results and identifying what to do next. The basic idea of GTD helps to clearly define the goal, and then each step towards achieving this goal. The method is suitable for organizing a presentation at work, and for planning Christmas shopping.

Each task should be small so that you can solve it quickly, and the lack of time or motivation could not get in your way. This approach contributes to the achievement of all your goals in life, helps to avoid stress.

When organizing projects using the GTD method, you will always be ready to start working on a task immediately, no matter what is happening around or where you are. GTD makes the next step so easy for you that you don't want to put it off.

Throughout this book, you will find some simple tools that you can use to work effectively and stay calm; and advice on how attitudes need to be developed to implement the GTD core principles.

Your brain is a thinking tool, not a storage device
Being successful in your job means being a good organizer. This is especially important for knowledge workers, for whom juggling dozens of tasks and projects is at the same time a daily reality. Difficulties arise when the fine line between our personal and professional lives is blurred. This is because our brains are trying to sort out unresolved problems and remind us of them at the most inopportune moment - even if we would rather deal with them later.

To keep all the complex information about life under control, many of us treat our brains like a drawer or a notebook. We abuse our brain by forcing it to store all kinds of information. Filling our heads with information about unfinished tasks, upcoming appointments and other obligations, we recklessly waste our brain's ability to think, which prevents us from concentrating on real work.

To work as efficiently as possible, we must free our minds from everything that is not related to the task we are performing at a particular moment in time. Use 100% of your mind's ability to focus on the task at hand.

If you want to think clearly, you need a reliable “collecting basket” outside of your mind.
One annoying property of our brains is that it never lets us forget what we need to take care of. We are constantly "bombarded" with new information, which also takes place in our mind. Every new idea, every memory and every problem we forgot to solve, distracts us from the main thing.

Always use a so-called “collecting basket”: a place outside of your mind where you can put any extraneous information or idea. You will know exactly where to find information later when you have time for it. This allows you to fully focus on writing a letter, talking with a colleague, or mowing the lawn.

Your “collecting basket” can be a notebook, lists on your computer / phone, or even boxes in which to put items and documents. Your basket (or baskets) for collecting material should be located nearby so it will be easy for you to extract information that you would otherwise be hoarding in your mind.

Take out trash - empty all external baskets weekly
For the system to run smoothly, you must maintain it. Get in the habit of reviewing and emptying the basket once a week. The collection basket system works because it allows the mind to rest with the confidence that it will not lose or forget any important information.

If the system is not updated, it ceases to be reliable, and the brain will become alert and stop trusting it. As soon as this happens, the subconscious will again begin to be distracted by unresolved problems and unfinished tasks. You must carefully consider all your tasks and put things in order, guided by the following rules:

• Cross out unimportant tasks from the list right away.
• If you can solve the problem very quickly (in two minutes or less), do it immediately.
• Keep important information in a safe place. If it's a meeting, project, or specific task, drag it to the appropriate list.
• Regular “cleaning the basket” is the only way to ensure reliable performance and avoid stress.

When emptying the "basket", sort the material according to the lists
No matter how different the material in your "basket", you do not need to classify and put it into separate "boxes" or lists.

Most to-do lists don't work because they turn into a "vinaigrette" of tasks, thoughts, and information. The lists should include only specific, feasible tasks, but we write down everything indiscriminately in them and therefore it is very easy to lose sight of individual feasible tasks.

How do you organize the items in your cart?

• Remove irrelevant things, solve minor tasks, and add appointments or deadlines to your calendar.
• If it is a complex job (that is, it requires the completion of several specific tasks), include it in the project with a clear goal.
• All other tasks should fall into the Next Steps list.

The Projects list gives an overview of all your current projects.
Projects are a key component of any productivity enhancing system. A project is a desired outcome that requires multi-step actions. To determine what tasks the project should consist of, imagine the result you want to achieve and describe the desired result in one sentence. Thinking about the result helps to formulate specific objectives that will bring you closer to achieving the project goal.

The list contains all projects that should be completed in the near future. It will help you track and control all ongoing projects, increase productivity, and relax.

As you update the list weekly, make sure to schedule each project step by step. All the activities that make up the project are included in the Next Activities list. It is the specific tasks that make it possible to achieve any goal.

Replace your daily to-do list with a calendar and Next Steps list
Daily to-do lists are ineffective - they distort your sense of timing, mislead you, and make you believe that you really have time to do all of the above in a day. This kind of unrealistic planning leads to frustration, wasted time, and in advance dooms you to what you are doing.

A much more efficient method is to work with the calendar and Next Actions lists. The calendar serves only one purpose: to record appointments. Everything related to a specific day or hour - a meeting or a visit to a doctor - should be recorded in the calendar.

Place any other tasks or specific steps on the Next Steps list. It allows you to quickly decide which tasks are most relevant, and whether you have time to solve them.

No matter where you are, you should always have your Next Steps list with you. This will give you the ability to choose which problem it makes sense to solve.

If you have planned well and pre-selected the tasks, it will not be difficult for you to decide which one makes sense to tackle. Imagine that you are at the airport and your flight is delayed by an hour. In this situation, ask yourself:

• Which task should I choose now?
• What task can I finish in the allotted time?
• What task do I have enough energy for at the moment?
• What is the highest priority task?

If there are too many tasks scheduled, it makes sense to distribute them across multiple lists and repositories. For example, you can store one list on your smartphone and another on your computer. By sorting tasks in this way, you will know which one you can complete while at your desk or in a meeting or while waiting at the airport.

Pending Lists are useful when working with other people
All current projects must be listed in the Projects list. By using the Next Steps list, you can ensure that you work consistently on tasks, each of which brings your projects closer to completion.

In most cases, you must rely on other people to be responsible for the individual parts of each project. But this does not mean that you should relinquish control over the implementation of any of your projects.

Whenever you are dependent on other people's work - waiting for someone to report to continue working on your presentation - it is worth keeping a Pending List. This way you can mark everything that other people have to provide you with the deadlines.

By updating this list every week, you will see who is doing their job and how. You will have a specific new challenge: reminding this person of the commitment.

If this task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately. If not, add it to the Next Actions list or one of the more specific lists and in a friendly way remind the person that you are still waiting for their report.

Save information for a specific day in a calendar or file cabinet
You can plan a lot of things ahead of time, but sometimes you have to wait for certain information before converting materials from your "basket" into specific tasks or appointments.

Example. If you are planning a trade show that is interesting to you, then you may want to wait a little and see its participants before deciding whether it makes sense to attend it. If such information is not available to you in advance, then it is best to postpone the decision.

In cases where you have no choice and have to plan everything at the last minute, the following strategies come in handy:

• Set yourself a reminder for a specific day on your calendar.
• Maintain a filing cabinet to help you access the information you need at the right time.

The file cabinet is a very accurate and logical system. It consists of 43 files: 31 files for the days of the month and 12 for the months of the year. Every day you will be able to check documents, reminders or materials "sent" to yourself.

For the system to work, you have to use and update it daily, and this is the hardest part.

Ideas that may become relevant in the future, add to the list "Once / maybe"
This list includes everything that is not in the Next Actions or Projects lists, but that should not get in the way of your head. The Once / Possibly list contains all the material that you have not yet converted into specific ideas or tasks. Don't underestimate its benefits. It allows you to keep track of project ideas that may be extremely important in the future. The ideas on this list can be divided into groups. For example:

• "Trips that I would like to take";
• Wines I would like to taste;
• "Music I would like to listen to."

Like the Next Action Lists, Once Upon a Time / Maybe will help you find the information you need at the right time. Lists are more reliable than your own memory.

The Once / Maybe list must be reviewed and updated regularly if you want to use it effectively.

Organized workspace and weekly review of your system increases productivity
All listing materials must be accessible from your workplace. Create a "cockpit" - a functional mobile system for accessing information wherever you are. It is extremely important to create a system of lists and files that you can take with you wherever you go: even if you are stuck in an airport or in a blizzard, you can still be productive.

The GTD methodology allows you to feel calm and control all ongoing projects: monitor their implementation and make sure that they are moving forward.

Keep your productivity system up to date and complete at all times. Your mind will relax and be able to concentrate fully on the task only if you trust your system.

By reviewing all of your lists on a weekly basis, you will ensure that your system remains functional - every project in progress is associated with at least one "Next Action" in an up-to-date, easily accessible list. You will have a general idea of everything that is happening. Revisiting helps you see the "forest" without losing sight of the "trees."

The amount of time you spend on a weekly review depends on how long it takes you to feel safe and build trust in the system.

Schedule your weekly revision, for example Friday night. This will allow you to close your work cases and leave for the weekend with a clear head and a sense of control.

Natural planning clarifies the goals and next steps of your projects
Developing a project is a rather unnatural and illogical process. You have to think through and plan all the steps in advance, not yet having a clear goal in mind. Use a natural planning method that reflects your daily activities.

An example of daily action: you are hungry and form a vague goal ("I have to eat something"), and then refine it ("I want pizza"). At this point, several ideas appear in your head on how to achieve this goal (“I can either bake a pizza, or order it, or go to a restaurant”). Any steps you need to take along the way become self-evident.

Apply this way of thinking to your real projects: start with the most specific goal definition. It never hurts to take the time to define a goal, since all subsequent actions will depend on this. When the goal is clear, your mind will automatically brainstorm. This will help you come up with the ideas you need to achieve your goal. A good tactic is to start brainstorming from the outside; for example, jot down and save your ideas on paper.

Once you have collected all your ideas, you must organize and group them, and then determine the specific actions required to complete the project.

Natural planning greatly clarifies project work and makes it fun, fast and intuitive.

The most important thing

How to work efficiently and with a clear head?

• Your brain is a thinking tool, not a storage device. If you want to think clearly, you need a reliable “collecting basket” outside of your mind.
• Take Out Trash - Empty all external baskets weekly.
• When sorting out the "baskets", sort the material according to thematic lists.

Simple tools that make up the GTD method

• The Projects List provides an overview of all your current projects.
• Use the calendar and Next Steps lists instead of the daily to-do list.
• Pending Lists are very useful when you work with other people.
• Save information for a specific day in a calendar or file cabinet.
• Any potentially interesting ideas should be added to the Once / Possibly list.
• An organized workspace and a weekly overview of your system are indispensable for productive work.

How to implement the GTD core principles?
Natural planning clarifies the goals and next steps of your projects and makes it easier to work on them.

 

[Tomcat]

8 Cognitive Behavioral Exercises: Self-Help When Dealing With Stress​

Therapeutic and prophylactic psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral exercises are therapeutic and prophylactic psychotherapy that are cognitive means of self-action.

The ultimate goal of these exercises is to reduce or completely eliminate destructive and inappropriate behavior or discomfort.

Exercise number 1

"Overcoming anxiety" (according to the gestalt therapy technique)

In order to overcome anxiety, which significantly worsens the quality of your life, you need to do the following:

Step 1.

Ask yourself and most importantly - honestly answer the following questions:

“Worrying and worrying about the future, am I not destroying my present?”;

“Am I anxious because my problem is 'huge and insoluble' or am I just taking the time to solve it?”;

"Is there an opportunity to do now what worries me so much?" For example, make an appointment with your loved one, start a serious conversation, make a plan, etc.

Step 2.

After you have answered the above questions, try to imagine and transfer your experiences to today and experience them right now. You will find that worrying and worrying about what is already happening “here, at this moment in time” is difficult enough.

Step 3.

We focus on our surroundings:

Try to focus on the senses, i.e. listen for sounds, smells and pay attention to colors;

On a piece of paper: "I realize that ..." write down everything that you felt.

Step 4.

We focus on the inner world:

We listen to the heartbeat, breathing, skin, muscles, etc .;

We take the same piece of paper and write "I realize that ..." our feelings.

After that, think: "Did you feel all the parts of the body?" If “no,” then do the fourth point several times so as not to ignore any part of your body.

Performing this exercise, the anxiety will begin to recede, you will calm down, as you will transfer your attention to other activities. Next time, as soon as you start to experience anxiety, do the 4 points of this exercise in stages.

Exercise number 2

"Overcoming Fear" (by Ellis)

If your fear is the result of an irrational idea (false, not having a real basis) then you need to do the following:

Try to laugh at your fear as well as your fear of fear;

For example, why do you need your family's approval for a cooked meal? Think rationally: if the dish was tasteless (oversalted, undercooked, too fatty, etc.), they would definitely say about it, and since they eat in silence, then they like everything. Laugh at the fact that you are waiting for approval where it should not be expected?

Be honest and open about your fears to a trusted person and show the emotions that you feel at the same time;

Try to find the root cause of your fear, ie irrational (wrong, false) idea of what should be and replace it with a rational (reasonable);

Observe your fears, admit to yourself that they are petty and insignificant and find the "correct" idea of what should be, challenge and gradually overcome them.

For example, you are afraid because you are afraid to show others how worried you are for someone or something. Understand that there is nothing shameful or scary in the fact that others will see that you are alarmed.

Admit to yourself that your fear of expressing your emotions is unfounded and unfounded. Remember that everyone has a right to emotions and experiences.

Exercise number 3

"Enhancing creativity" (according to D. Scott)

This exercise is also called "Brainstorming".

Step 1. We write down ideas and solutions to the problem - without much hesitation, take a sheet of paper and write the first solutions to this problem that came to your mind. This is necessary in order to exclude all your possible fears and worries about the subsequent failure, to exclude all the "brakes" and the influence of the mechanisms of your consciousness, which may, and the worst thing, that will surely arise during long reflections.

Step 2. Self-assessment of solutions is a critical analytical part of the exercise that will allow you to identify suitable and unsuitable solutions. You need to evaluate your decisions on a 5-point system, from the most reasonable and correct decision (score "5") to the most inexpedient (score "2").

Step 3. Selection of the best solution - this may be one of the most suitable options, or it may be a combination of several that will lead to a positive solution to the problem.

Exercise number 4

"Stress relief" (by K. Schreiner)

This is a kind of "cleansing the brain" of "unnecessary" thoughts.

Step 1. Listen to your feelings that you experience during stress, you may "break through a sweat" or you are tense with anticipation.

Step 2. Now make a special effort to feel the moment when you are very tense. Ask a question and answer it: "For what and why am I working so hard?"

Step 3. Now ask yourself the following question: "What do I need to make me feel better?"

Step 4. For 2-3 minutes, exaggerate your feelings, let the sweat break through you for this time or a tremendous tension ensues. Without doing anything, just feel this state and make sure that it takes up a lot of energy and strength, and that this energy is wasted.

Step 5 . After the observation experiment, answer yourself: “Do I need such tension? Is this good for me? Do I want to get rid of him? "

Step 6. The next step is to realize that your requirements create a sense of despair.

Step 7. We proceed directly to relaxation. To do this, you need to imagine that all your muscles have become a kind of pliable dough or foam rubber. Try to catch a state of balance.

Step 8. “We cleanse our brain of unnecessary things” and do something constructive and necessary instead of wasting our strength and energy for useless tension or “breaking through”.

Step 9. The last step is to consciously replace your requirements with your preferences.

Exercise number 5

"Resolving a stressful situation by the" Sweep "method (according to R. Bandler)

Stand up comfortably or sit down and close your eyes. Now imagine that you have one photo in both hands:

In one hand is a card where your problem or negative situation is photographed that you would not like to see. She is gloomy, everything is negative and blurry;

In the other hand is a card, where a pleasant situation is photographed in bright multi-colored colors, looking at which positive emotions visit you, such as joy, tranquility, happiness, etc.

Now with one stroke, ie With lightning speed, lower the negative photograph to your knee so that you stop seeing it, and raise the positive one to eye level.

This exercise should be done at the moment when a stressful situation manifests itself and you feel tension. Such a lightning-fast replacement of photographs should be done until the positive image finally displaces the negative one.

Exercise number 6

"Correction of negative behavior through introspection"
(according to D. Reyworth)

Being an impassive bystander is essential to this exercise. You must listen, concentrate your attention, be aware of your feelings, feel them and remember them, but at the same time do not change anything. Such exercises are done in solitude so that you are not disturbed or distracted.

Step 1. Concentrate on your physical body:

It does not matter whether you are sitting, lying or standing, pay attention to how the legs, arms are located, the head is lowered or thrown back, whether the back is bent, etc .;

Concentrate on where you are hurting or feeling tension, etc .;

We listen to breathing and heartbeat.

Suggest to yourself: "This is my body, but I am not the body."

Step 2. Concentrate on your feelings:

We listen to your feelings that you are experiencing now;

Find and separate the positive side from the negative side of these feelings.

Suggest to yourself: "These are my feelings, but I am not these feelings."

Step 3. Concentrate on our desires:

List your desires and aspirations, if you have them;

Without thinking about their importance or prioritizing, list them one by one.

Suggest to yourself: "These are my desires, but I am not these desires."

Step 4. Concentrate on our thoughts:

Catch the thought you are thinking right now. Even if you think that you do not have any thoughts at a given moment, this is a thought and you need to observe it;

If there are many thoughts, then observe how one thought replaces another. It doesn't matter if they are correct and rational, just focus on them.

Suggest to yourself: "These are my thoughts, but I am not these thoughts."

A similar exercise "Self-correction" refers to the techniques of psychosynthesis and will allow you to observe and see your body, feelings, desires and thoughts as if from the outside.

Exercise number 7

"Who am I?" (by T. Lawmens)

This exercise also belongs to the techniques of psychosynthesis and consists in the outside observation of oneself. The purpose of the exercise is to help develop self-awareness and reveal your real "I".

Each person is like a multi-layered onion, where our true "I" is hidden layer by layer. Such layers can be masks that we “choose” for a suitable occasion and “put on” ourselves every day so that people do not see our true feelings or those qualities that we are ashamed of or do not like in ourselves.

But there are also positive layers that we ignore and do not admit to ourselves that they are "good". To see behind all these layers your real essence, your living core, your personality - this is what thanks to this exercise you will gradually, step by step, be able to do.

It is imperative that you are not distracted during this exercise.

Step 1.

In a notebook on the first page, write a question-title "Who am I?" Now set the time and write down your answer as honestly as possible. Discard the opinions of others or what your relatives say about you, write down exactly how you think. This step can be done several times a day or daily, each time putting down a date and answering frankly: "Who do you think you are?"

Step 2.

Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Ask yourself the same question and visualize the answer. Do not correct it and do not reason, but catch exactly the image that occurred to you immediately after the question. Opening your eyes, immediately describe this image that has arisen, remember what feelings you experienced when you saw it and what this image means to you.

Step 3.

Stand in the middle of the room and close your eyes. Ask yourself the same question and feel the movements that your body will begin to make. Do not control them, do not interfere, do not make adjustments, but trust the body. Be sure to remember these movements, because this is how it answers the question posed.

Exercise number 8

"Dialogue with oneself for the purpose of emergency self-help"
(after MESandomirsky)

The main goal of the dialogue is to urgently help oneself to relieve the bodily emotional discomfort that has arisen. Exercise should be done in isolation, so as not to interfere.

Step 1.

Close your eyes and imagine a mirror in front of you, and in it your image. Take a closer look: how you look at the moment of the onset of discomfort, how it is reflected in the expression of your face, on your posture.

Step 2.

Concentrate on the physical sensations and find the places where the uncomfortable sensations are experienced.

Step 3.

The essence of the next step is as follows:

You must say to yourself (ie to an imaginary interlocutor, to your image) all those words that, in your opinion, will calm you down in this situation, encourage, stop obsessive anxiety, self-pity, self-reproach, self-accusation and restore your self-esteem and dignity.

Put in these words as much emotionality and feelings as, in your opinion, will be needed to achieve your goal.

Your imaginary "mirror" interlocutor will react to your words and his response will be a signal to you - whether your words hit the target or they were uttered in vain.

Step 4.

Switch to your physical sensations.

If the words reach the goal, then the physical suffering will subside and the discomfort will disappear over time. If this does not happen, repeat step 3 again.

If necessary, this exercise can be repeated several times, the main thing is to make the physical emotional discomfort subside - this is urgent instant emergency self-help.

In conclusion, I would like to note that there are a lot of such psychotherapeutic exercises in practice among psychologists.

One goal unites them - it is self-help. By doing these exercises, you will learn how to independently influence yourself and thereby help yourself: eliminate or reduce inappropriate manifestations of your behavior, overcome anxiety or fear, relieve stress, increase your creative activity and better understand yourself.