Resolving to Rewire

The New Year is the time for new beginnings and fresh starts, but really, anytime works for resolving to rewire from our hectic, overwired lives. This eBook will guide you through the eight rewiring steps to work smarter, live better, and be more productive in your professional and personal lives. By the end, you will be equipped with the knowledge and techniques to eliminate an overwired existence. Let's begin.

First, STOP. Shut down all devices, including the worries and to-do lists in your brain. Seriously turn off the computer and mobile devices and step away from the TV or conversations in the room or office. Reboot your brain and open a clean page. It is now time to rewire. Let us first discuss what it means to be overwired. Then walk through the eight steps to rewire your processes and actions, which will make your future organized, prioritized, and efficient not to mention happier. Here are the eight steps to rewire:

1. STOP: Running full out. START: Recharging regularly.
2. STOP: Letting technology use you. START: Using technology.
3. STOP: Shifting clutter. START: Organizing and simplifying.
4. STOP: Worrying about work/life balance. START: Focusing on doing more of what energizes you and less of what depletes you.
5. STOP: Multitasking. START: Unitasking.
6. STOP: saying yes. START: saying no.
7. STOP: Being available 24/7. START: Setting boundaries.
8. STOP: Playing catch up. START: Getting out in front.

What Does Overwired Mean?

Overwired means firing on all cylinders, overtaxing our brains and bodies, and never allowing either to rest or rejuvenate properly. It means multitasking, multithinking, and never really being present with the task at hand or the people in our lives. It means feeling wired, even when we are not actually in front of a computer or at work.

Being overwired is an expensive problem, both in terms of the costs to our mental and physical health and in the loss of productivity at work. Conservative estimates suggest that overwired employees defined as workers who multitask, are unfocused, and overwhelmed making $100,000 annually cost companies over $46,000 each in lost productivity and quality of work.

We don't have to be overwired. We can resolve to rewire. Ask yourself:

1. Do you want to be more productive and efficient at work?
2. Do you want to learn to set boundaries?
3. Do you want to be more present in your life?
4. Do you want to make more time for the people and things you love?
5. Do you want to say no to things that distract you?
6. Do want to create space to work smarter and live better?

The key is STOP doing the destructive things that prevent our purposeful productivity and START doing the small but important things that improve the way we work and live. Once we resolve to do so, we can see more clearly, think with greater clarity, and focus with ...

Eight Steps to STOP Overwiring and START Rewiring

Step 1 Stop: Running Full Out.

In order to rewire ourselves, we first have to stop the madness of going full tilt 24/7 and unwire so that we can recharge ourselves on a regular basis. We know from neuroscientists and the medical community that the brain and body require periods of rest so that our cells can grow and rejuvenate. In the same way that an athlete rests his muscles after a big work out, we have to rest our brains and bodies, too. This is done by unwiring.

START: Recharging regularly.

I mean this literally. We have to actually unwire ourselves from all the technology, screens, and gadgets and step away from it all. Most people aren't actually wired to anything anymore; we're all wireless these days. But this has actually made us more "wired". We are always able to be reached. Technology is no longer at arm's length; it's at our fingertips. Constantly. We have to unwire from it and step away so that we are able to recharge. The good news is that we don't have to take a four-day retreat; we can unwire in small but meaningful ways throughout the day:

• Start your day unwired. Don't look at your smartphone or email before you've had your morning coffee or breakfast.
• Enjoy a silent commute no radio, no e-mail, no texting.
• Arrive at the office a few minutes early and take five minutes to think about your day before diving into your e-mail and phone calls.
• Write a concise to-do list for the day. Label two columns: Must-do / Should-do.
• Have phone-free lunches. Think: Do you really need to be available?
• At lunch, eat outside or take a walk rather than surf the Internet as you eat at your desk.
• Resist the temptation to take your phone to the bathroom or break room.
• Try to unplug for five minutes or so every hour. Get up from your desk, stretch, walk around, step outside, etc. And leave your phone behind.

Five or 10 minutes here and there may not sound like a lot, but it all adds up. You will be amazed at the impact these short periods of unwired time have on your rejuvenation. The key is to punctuate your day and evenings, too by unwiring.

STEP 2 STOP: Letting technology use you. START: Using technology.

Because the wired world is always at our fingertips, we have conditioned ourselves to be available to it. We sometimes feel like technology is using us. But the great thing about technology is that it can make our lives easier and more efficient. The key is to use simple technology properly on our own terms. The two most common complaints from my clients are e-mail overload and feeling chained to smartphones.

8 Steps to Tackle Email:

1. It's your inbox. Take control of it.
2. Before opening anything, delete all non-essential messages.
3. Learn how to use your spam filter.
4. Get off all e-mail lists. Unsubscribe and don't sign up in the first place.
5. Create a separate, personal e-mail address just for online orders, junk mail, RSS feeds, newsletters, etc.
6. Establish a clear protocol with colleagues about when to cc, so you don't get unnecessary e-mails.
7. Consider a cloud solution where you can remotely access your work computer from anywhere so you don't have to be tethered to your desk to get to your emails.
8. Train yourself not to respond every time you see a new e-mail icon. Better yet, turn off that function. Even better, pick four or five times a day when you will open, read, and respond to e-mails.

4 Steps to Tackle the Smartphone:

1. Be liberal with caller ID.
2. Let calls go to voicemail.
3. Do not have work calls forwarded to your smartphone unless you have to.
4. Let callers know when you will return calls
5. Allow yourself freedom from the office by having an easy to use online meeting app, such as GoToMeeting, to attend meetings anywhere.

By using technology properly, we can prevent it from using and overwhelming us. Use it your advantage.

STEP 3 STOP: Shifting clutter

Clutter is distracting - really distracting. In fact, researchers at Princeton's Neuroscience Institute reported that clutter actually ihibits the brain's ability to focus and process information because it vies for your energy and attention. 1 Just like computers slow down when too many windows or too many programs are open, we slow down when we have too much stuff taking up physical space. So, to think and perform better, get rid of the clutter and get organized.

START: Organizing and simplifying.

1. Take a look at your desk or office.
2. Is it well organized or cluttered?
3. Can you find what you need?
4. Throw out or file papers you don't need
5. Develop a system where you touch a paper or e-mail only once.
6. Organize your supplies and files so you can find them
7. Do you have too many personal items in your office? Or not enough?
8. Does this distract you from being present or purposeful?
9. What do you absolutely need to be productive and focused?

Is there something draining you and not adding value to your work or your life? Get rid of it. You want to create an environment that is energizing and helps you stay productive and focused, not one that distracts you with clutter. Do this at home, too.

STEP 4. STOP: Worrying about work/life balance

Work/life balance is a tricky thing. We all beat ourselves up for not being home more, or present more, or "there" for more people. Instead of worrying about work/life balence, we should focus instead on doing the things we love and being with the people who energize us. Do less of the things that deplete you. Of course, there will always be things we don't want to do but have to, both at work and at home. And there will always be people with whom we must interact, whether we want to or not. But try to think of your time as precious (it is!) and, as much as possible, be critical and judicious with the things and people who take up your time and attention. Learn to choose more wisely.

START: Focusing on doing more of what energizes you and less of what depletes you.

Ask yourself:

• Who are the people, personal and professional, who are draining my time and attention?
• What is the technology that is draining my time and attention?
• If I have to deal with certain people, how can I do so on my own terms?
• What are the commitments, professional and personal, that I do not enjoy or do not have to attend?
• Who do I love to be with? Who brings out the best in me? What do I love to do?

As much as possible, you want to shed the people and things that negatively encumber you. You are letting them steal your precious time. As much as possible, fill your life with the people and things that fulfill you, engage you, inspire you, and make your life better. Choose them, and you'll never worry about your work/life balance again.

STEP 5 STOP: Multitasking.

These days, people often wear their "ability" to multitask as a badge of honor. We've all been there: Sitting at our desk, computer humming, files open, checking e-mails, talking on the phone, and listening to a colleague all at the same time. Impressive, yes? No. It's neither impressive nor effective. This is the myth of multitasking. When we multitask, our brain shifts back and forth rapidly between two or more tasks, but, because our brain cannot process two different thoughts simultaneously, this decreases performance and takes more energy, creating cognitive drain. We thorough job when we multitask.

START: Unitasking.

Instead, we should unitask, which means to do one thing at a time. This is a tricky idea for most of us, since we're accustomed to doing three things at once. Unitasking requires a bit of brain retraining. Here's how to do it:

• Focus on one thing at a time.
• When you read an e-mail, read only that e-mail. Focus on the words.
• When you talk on the phone, talk on the phone. Focus on the conversation.
• When someone is speaking to you, stop what you are doing, look them in the eye, and listen to what they are saying.
• When you wash dishes, wash dishes. Focus on the water and the dish in your hands.
• When you walk, walk. Focus on nature and the air around you (rather than on the screen of your smartphone or your to-do list).
• When you drive, drive. Focus on the road and the drivers around you.

The key is to be mindful of exactly what we are doing when we are doing it. If another thought or urge pops into your head, acknowledge it, but then return your focus. When your mind wanders, bring it back. Unitask.