Have you ever felt overwhelmed to the point that you just wanted to bang the walls in frustration? Whether metaphor or real, everyone reaches the end of their rope at some point. How you handle the situation makes a big difference in your outcome.
One common example is spending hours trying to solve a complex problem and feeling stuck. If you become extremely frustrated, it may bring to mind one definition of insanity, which is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
If this happens, you need to disrupt the pattern. This may seem counterintuitive especially if you’re in a time crunch, but to break through, you need to step away from the problem. Change your environment. Work on something that is completely unrelated. Then go back to the problem and chances are good that you’ll see something new that will lead to a solution.
As another example, if you feel your staff is not performing you may think that shouting reprimands in an angry voice will get different results. It won’t. Chances are if multiple people aren’t performing up to snuff, you probably didn’t provide adequate direction or oversight. Do a quick assessment of the real problem and redirect the staff, rather than go on an irrational rant.
A third scenario is when you have more work to do than time to complete it. In this case, dispersing your efforts on many items probably isn’t the solution. Instead, step out of the environment to identify what’s on your plate and how you can prioritize for optimal results. Arrange specific blocks of time to systematically tackle your initiatives.
These three examples incorporate many of the situations that can be frustrating especially when they occur at a high intensity level. Learn to be self-aware when you’re stuck in one of these quandaries, and be willing to regroup and change your approach.
When you embark on a difficult initiative, think in advance about what you can use as a trigger to determine if you need to change course. If you practice this regularly, you may even forget about banging the walls.
Have a great day!