Compartmentalization Increases Productivity and Decreases Stress – The How and the Why
Have you ever had so much going on in your personal life (good or bad) that it disrupted your productivity at work? I am sure you have at one point or another in your life.
If you don’t have problems, get some quickly – problems build character. If you don’t having anything exciting happening outside your business, change that, too! There are many instances that could affect your performance at work such as:
Relationship troubles
Death of a family member
Planning a wedding
Moving
Looking for/Buying a new home
Parenting Challenges (unruly teenagers anyone?)
Or even just personal challenges within yourself
And the list goes on….
As the daughter of an Intelligence Agent – my father always told me when I was having personal challenges, “You must put your problems in a box and put it to the side while you work and focus on another box.” When I first heard this, I just didn’t get it. Though now, I find compartmentalization incredibly valuable. And like any skill, you get better and better at it.
Compartmentalization is defined as:
“The act of splitting an idea or concept up into (sometimes more or less arbitrary) parts, and trying to enforce thought processes which are inhibiting attempts to allow these parts to mix together again. This process is performed in an attempt to simplify things.”
The question is….how do you do this??
There are many possible ways to practice this.
- Unitask: Multitasking? Not such a good idea (sorry Moms). Unitask is the key here. Look at one problem and one project at a time. This will especially help reduce the global view of “my whole life is screwed up at the moment”.
- Organize: Think of your brain as a receptacle that holds paper file folders. While at work, keep the personal issues in the appropriate folder and focus on the work tasks at hand.
- Schedule Accordingly: Good time management is a good way to organize your time for dealing with tasks and problems. Set aside time in your calendar for dealing with particular issues. For example: during lunch – schedule all the personal calls you need to for a big vacation coming up that is distracting you. Sometimes just knowing you will be able to deal with something later in the day will allow you to focus on more important tasks at hand in the current moment.
- Focus on the positive: Oh yes….that attitude adjustment…we all need it sometimes. There are always good things to focus on, and sometimes that allows you to quit fixating on what is going wrong.
- Practice Quiet Time: Spend time practicing mindful meditation. Quieting your mind is a skill that takes a ton of practice! Where might you start? Try a breathing exercise–counting to 6 on the inhale, 6 on the exhale.
- Take Action: If there is something out of your control happening in your life, try taking something in your control that is within your power. What that may look like for you is: looking for new employment, finding a therapist, setting a new exercise goal, trying a new hobby, or fixing something in your house. Taking initiative is empowering.
There are many ways of letting go of challenges that we are facing. I know some people who write down a problem on a piece of paper and leave it by their bed. When they go to sleep, they know it will be there when they wake – but for now, it is time to rest.
How about writing down a problem on a piece of paper and burning it? (please don’t burn your house down while you are at it, this could create more problems for you)
I would love to hear more suggestions. How do you compartmentalize to keep yourself productive at work?
Be Free!
Jana Owen
Speaker
Good article, Jana. Thanks for the great tips. I’ve passed this along to someone who was just recently asking about how to reduce stress and overwhelm.
Comment by Roberta Kayne — July 8, 2010 @ 9:01 am
Compartmentalization (aka focus) is vital to me WHILE I’M WORKING. And having a FULL picture of all components of my life is important during my quiet time. Then I can see how they all fit together.
Comment by David Meyers — July 8, 2010 @ 9:07 am
This is a fantastic article- my comments will come later, but just wanted to thank you Jana for this piece- awesome!
Comment by Roger Seip — July 8, 2010 @ 9:28 am
Awesome post Jana! This is really helpful for me as i am diving headfirst back to work.
Comment by eric — July 8, 2010 @ 9:51 am
Really loved the part about unitasking. I am a mom and am unlearning “multitasking”.
I have two teen-aged kids at home this summer and sticking to a schedule has been invaluable to compartmentalizing things. For instance, I was able to compartmentalize when they brought into the house a 5-foot bull snake that they had caught in the garden. After I screamed my head off, horror movie-style, and after they had their little laugh, I did not get distracted, but asked them to get that thing outside. I was in the middle of work time!
When I have a specific schedule set out in the beginning of the morning, I am less likely to get distracted by my monkey mind. I know that I have a generous break in the middle of the day where I can indulge in a personal mini melt-down if need be, nag my children, and do some positive reading to boost the afternoon session.
Usually by the time a break comes, I am doing fine because I put in focused work, and I didn’t waste a lot of energy obsessing on things that didn’t have anything to do with conducting business. I was able to keep my emotions in a box.
Somehow this is keeping me sane!
Comment by Cindy Schumacher — July 8, 2010 @ 1:21 pm
You’re absolutely right you have to organize and schedule all the things you’ve got to do. Being a minimalist helps you a lot.
Comment by CFPS — July 9, 2010 @ 4:46 am
Enjoyed your article. When I work with clients to organize their homes, they are often surprised how much they get done when we compartmentalize (set start and end time) and focus (stay on-task without interruption)
Comment by Grace Bermudes — July 25, 2010 @ 11:42 pm
Thanks for your step-by-step, unitasked suggestions. They sound simple, but sometimes, we just need to see the ideas in different words. Internet overload all by itself — without families, school, work, and money problems — demands sorting out and compartmentalizing. Figuring out one will hopefully help with the others.
Comment by Sally the Cash Specialist — August 5, 2010 @ 6:29 pm