When Emotions Disrupt My Productivity, Doing Nothing Works Best
What Happened When I Stopped Applying Self-Regulating Practices
When emotional overwhelm disrupts my productivity, there is one strategy that works for me, and that is to do nothing. I know that sounds counterintuitive, having both the word “productivity” and the concept of not doing anything in the same sentence. Still, in this case, I'm referring to managing emotions that can become so debilitating that they can cause a mental shutdown and drain my energy to the point where I sit in a mental fog.
Growing Up with the Unknown
I've lived a lifetime through the experience of anything related to any sensitivity trait. If there's one thing that stands out in my childhood experiences, it is those where I was having a meltdown. As a five-year-old, I would experience a form of social anxiety. Everyday interactions like being dropped off at kindergarten, left at someone's home to be looked after while my mother worked, going to my neighbor's 5th birthday party, or attending family events always made me feel uneasy at best. At worst, it was jarring. I knew my emotional reactions were intense, but I didn't understand why.
When You Find Yourself Scoring High on So Many Sensitivity Assessment Tools
As I evolved into adulthood, research into sensitivity traits and characteristics emerged. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment began my journey of getting an insight into what made me react the way I did. Discovering I was introverted explained my need for solitude, time, and space to recharge, which was considered ‘normal.’
I then went through a stage of reading up on other sensitivity traits and the various identities that come with them, from Dr. Elaine Aron's work on The Highly Sensitive Person to Dr. Judith Orloff's studies on empaths. Sensitivity challenges are also a prominent factor for those who identify as being on the neurodivergent spectrum. Covering all these facets would turn this into a book, but I digress.
They say two things can be true at the same time. So, I’d say when describing my emotional landscape, multiple things can be true at the same time. The different sensitivity traits have become indicators for understanding how I react and process my outer experience.
Learning to See the Positives While Navigating the Challenges
Being sensitive has its strengths. It provides perspectives into situations that others may not see. If it's managed well, I can tap into my creative well of inspiration. But my productivity can take a hit when the pendulum swings the other way, and my heightened emotions can wreak havoc on my ability to stay focused and function.
As a result, I honed in on self-care practices that help me balance my emotions and restore my sense of equilibrium. Depending on the severity and the context, these techniques sometimes include going for a walk, practicing mindful breathing, or distracting myself with other tasks so that I don't focus on my intense emotions. It's been hit or miss with those practices. Even the hits tend to lose their effectiveness after a while.
Feeling Underwhelmed by Results Taught Me How to Manage Overwhelm
Lately, during episodes of feeling overwhelmed, it’s becoming easier not to consciously engage in any mindful practices. I may have absorbed so many mindfulness techniques that I naturally apply the basic principles without thinking about them.
For example, my most recent challenge involved a situation that triggered an influx of emotions, which caused my mind to shut down and disrupted my productivity momentum. For the first time, I finally accepted that this reaction is part of who I am. I am familiar with its flow and intensity.
This time, I saw my emotions as a form of energy that moves through me, and over time, I knew they would dissipate on their own. I've also gotten to know during my heightened state what types of thoughts antagonize it and what don’t. After spending years working on techniques to eliminate these intense reactions, I have unexpectedly become familiar with their pattern and flow.
In response, I allowed my uncomfortable emotions to sit within me while I continued working on a task at hand. The intensity was still there, and I could feel it. But as I became absorbed in my work, it slowly faded into the background until it disappeared.
In other words, when faced with emotional overwhelm, I chose to do nothing—and in doing so, I allowed the emotions to pass on their own.
How might embracing your emotional patterns, rather than resisting them, change how you manage overwhelm in your life?
Thank you for reading to the end. I hope you found it useful.
With so much happening in our lives, applying simple acts can help us achieve success.
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I’ll see you next time,
- Mili