Holiday Stress?
The holidays are among us!! Many of us feel the challenges and pressures of getting organized and staying organized at this time of year. The more we know about how organization, focus, and productivity are influenced, the closer we are to staying in control and enjoying this special time.
We all have our own opinions on what may influence our ability to become and stay organized. But have we ever thought of the physiological things that could be contributing? Let’s talk for a moment about the brain’s influence on our ability to organize. Many believe that the brain evolved in three major phases:
1. Brainstem: which primarily controls automatic functions
2. Limbic System: which primarily controls emotional functions
3. Neo-cortex: which primarily controls thinking functions
A network of brain cells called the reticular activating system (RAS) runs throughout the brain systems. The RAS acts as a sort of “toggle switch” activating either the neo-cortex or the limbic system.
This “toggle switch” is flipped by our emotions. For example, any time we experience a heightened state of emotions (anxiety brought on by 20 relatives visiting, stress at the amount of grocery shopping we have to do, anger at our spouse for burning the turkey, etc.), the switch flips our limbic system on and our neo-cortex off.
What does all of this mean to me, you might ask? When our emotions (limbic functions) are controlling our behavior, we frequently default to our habits (which may be good or bad).
With this being the holiday season, for many of us stress is higher now. In these circumstances, we may default to our bad habits about organizing, such as putting things in piles instead of having a specific place for them, or feeling overwhelmed with paper rather than just tackling one stack at a time.
When we set up good habits by learning more about organizing systems and applying techniques specific to us, we are able to relax and activate our neo-cortex (or our thinking brain). It is a good idea for those of us who consistently operate under stressful conditions to have these good habits already in place so that we can stay in control and enjoy rather than dread this holiday season.
How can we do this? There are several ways:
1. Read about it. Buy books on organization, focus, and productivity such as Getting Organized by Chris Crouch: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0975868098/102-6146278-5853763?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance or Taming the Paper Tiger at Work (Kiplinger’s) by Barbara Hemphill: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0938721984/102-6146278-5853763?v=glance&n=283155&%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance. Both of these books I would highly recommend but there are many others out there. Search “organizing” on www.amazon.com.
2. Surf the internet. These days there are tons of organizing websites that can give you ideas. There are links to many of them on my website at: http://www.organize2optimize.com/html/reources.html.
3. Talk with friends. Hearing organizing success stories from our friends and co-workers can be the first step to starting the process. Take the attitude, “If he can do it, I can do it.” Learn what works for others and take those that you can incorporate into your life and use them.
4. Hire a professional to help you. Professional organizers study the newest organizing techniques and strategies and can present them to you in the way that will work for you. Often times, it is the simple tried-and-true techniques that work best. Organizers tailor all of the options out there to your personal situation.
5. Attend an organizing class. If you live in the Indianapolis area, click here: http://www.organize2optimize.com/html/speaking.html. This could be your first step in setting up good habits and keeping you under control in stressful times.
Good luck and Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Nicole
P.S. If you are interested in reading more about the brain and its influence in our lives, check out the book The Owner’s Manual for the Brain by Pierce J. Howard, Ph.D.
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