Anyone who has ever used a computer knows that sometimes they just jam up. Too many things going on at the same time can lead to a freeze. And to get out of it, you need to reboot the machine. The same thing can happen in our lives as well. Today we will look at how to do a productivity reboot where you look at your load and close things out before restarting.
Leading To My Recent Reboot
It’s amazing, isn’t it, that someone who spends so much time talking about productivity, and reading about productivity, should fall flat on her face in productivity, right? At least it is to me. (We’ll talk about expectations in a future article)
It was about a month ago, and I hit a wall. I didn’t want to do anything. My task list was overwhelming, teeming with all the minutiae of stuff I just didn’t want to do. None of my projects excited me, and I avoided doing anything.
If this had happened to my computer, where nothing worked, the first thing I would have tried would be to reboot the thing. Power all the way down, let it sit for a bit, then start it up again.
I needed to do the same thing with my life.
Recognizing When A Reboot Is Necessary
We all have slumps. Low energy, temporary overwhelms and sudden demands can slow us down. These are usually temporary, though, and we recover in a week or so. The internet is loaded with tricks on how to snap out of these, and get ourselves back on track: new systems, timers, filing methods, purges, brain dumps.
When slumps stretch into weeks, and nothing can budge our massive resistance, it is time to assess if a reboot is necessary.
Rebooting Your Productivity
Stopping the Programs
The first thing a computer does when you reboot is to stop everything it is doing quickly. Some things it handles gracefully, asking if you want to save, and preparing for you to pick back up when you are ready.
In life, it’s a matter of wrapping up the things that can’t wait. You can do as little as necessary to bring it to completion, as long as it ends.
Sometimes a stubborn program doesn’t want to close, and the computer will ask if you want to force it closed. And as a programmer, I can tell you that sometimes it is necessary. Things can become so snarled in memory that you just need to walk away.
In life, this would be like walking away from things that are sucking you dry. It’s always good to go for a graceful close, but honestly, sometimes one needs to drop the ball before it will be picked up by someone else.
Taking A Break
When I did phone support, I would always instruct people to count to 10 before powering on their machines again. This would make sure that everything had a chance to stop before it started up again.
The same thing is necessary with a productivity reboot. A space of time needs to happen when you give yourself a break. It may be an hour, an afternoon, or a couple of weeks.
Starting Up Again
When a computer starts up, it generally checks everything out, makes sure all is in order, and then loads a minimum number of programs, usually ones that are critical to the machine, and things you have chosen to run.
The same should happen after your break: check everything out, make sure you know where everything is, and then start up again on critical items, and the ones you feel are important. It’s tempting to try and start everything up again, but it’s crucial that you only do a minimum or you will end up the same situation soon.
My Reboot
I don’t recollect that I thought I was doing a reboot at the time I started it. I just knew that something had to give.
Stopping
I started by clearing my task list of those things that had deadlines, in a manner that was easy and fast. My niece and oldest nephew had birthdays soon and I had to get a card and gift out to each. I would have preferred to do nice gifts suited to their interests, but I see them maybe once a year and have no clue as to their preferences. The easy way out was to send personalized cards with checks.
One commitment was a gathering of paperwork to be turned in to a national organization. I had been working on this for months and I was still chasing after stragglers. I sent an email to those outstanding and said I couldn’t wait any longer, and their membership in the national organization would have to wait until next year. Then I sent in what I had.
Other commitments also went this way. I closed out 5 different tasks/projects that were lingering on my list.
When I did this process the first time, back in 2008, I jettisoned 2/3 of my commitments. This meant walking away from various volunteer positions. Some I didn’t wait to transition to other people. I also jettisoned a lot of commitments when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have not allowed a lot of commitments, particularly open-ended ones including volunteer positions, creep back in. So this wasn’t necessary this time.
The Break
I gave myself permission to do nothing for two weeks. That meant two weeks off from writing, blogging, planning discussion groups, crafting, learning new skills, correspondence and purging the house.
This was very difficult. There were nights when I wandered the house, lost, unsure of what I wanted to do. I scheduled a camping trip, and that was helpful.
But after a week, I felt up to tackling a bit of maintenance on the blog and around the house. But still there was no pressure. I made myself not write posts, and not program anything at home.
The Restart
When I went to restart everything, I realized that my life had tilted somewhere along the way. I was no longer putting the things first that my heart believed were most important. My spiritual practice had slipped, and I couldn’t remember the last time I actually meditated.
Worst of all, it was silent. For years music has soothed, guided, uplifted and energized me. I previously always had some music going. But for the past few months, I have walked, driven and bathed in silence. Not a good sign for someone who considers music to be essential to life. (Bach is currently playing as I write this).
So what are the minimum things for me? Time to read, write, reflect, and listen. Time to dream. Time to create.
In Conclusion
I have rebooted my productivity several times over the years, and I am always amazed at how good things feel afterward. Lingering projects closed out or abandoned, excess commitments transitioned, and getting a good idea of what direction I need to be heading. It’s a good feeling.
