Are you a workplace zombie? 3 Signs you might be joining the ranks of the professionally undead &
I recently fell into a workaholic stupor that left me relentlessly pursuing various tasks with mindless yet dauntless determination. I was like the zombies that seem to haunt every television commercial and TV show these days. You’ve seen them— those red-eyed monsters haunting the halls of your building, blindly making their way to the coffee pot with arms outstretched, seeking caffeine like a movie monster seeks out human innards!
They lack focus. They lack direction. They lack consciousness. Yet they continue to march on, as their frightened coworkers huddle behind farmhouse beds, stacking heavy dressers against the doors and looking for ammunition and cans of Spam! (Well, it can certainly feel that way sometimes!)
It was humbling and upsetting to see this old trend in myself after a multi-year struggle for more conscious patterns of working and living.
After all, everything I write or speak about is laced with ideas about awareness, pattern-spotting, and perspective. Could this really be happening? After some reflection, interspersed with efforts to meet obligations and take some items off of that TO DO list, it occurred to me that the warning signs are pretty simple, and worth sharing.
So here you go! Let's put the workplace zombification prevention plan into effect! That's WPZPP- The military girl in me still loves acronyms!
Sign #1 you are en route to workplace Zombie-dom: Lost items
It’s that simple. I have long known that the warning sign that I need to do some housework is when I can’t find something I need. I usually listen to that alarm bell, finding the desired object in the course of putting everything else in its proper place and scrubbing a bit to boot.
Yet this little red flag is about more than the need to become one with the bathroom cleaner and scrub brush… It applies to work as well.
As a woman who often wears black skirts and owns a very affectionate white dog, I have learned to change into my work clothes at the last possible second before heading out the door. At the moment I am the temporary guardian of a golden retriever puppy as well. So today as I headed out the door, I was intercepted with much slobbery enthusiasm. I had the good fortune to be reminded that I am loved very much— a reminder that left me looking for the tape roller I normally keep in my car for such occasions. Alas! No tape roller!!! I drove to the event, parked my car, and then did the best I could to remove the signs of having been accosted by my furry fan club before I quietly took a seat in the back of the room.
Uh oh! Sign #1! ...If I abandon my vegetarian cravings and find myself wanting brains I'll know I am in trouble!
Sign #2 that you might be headed towards the land of the professionally undead: You don’t have time to relax
As last week’s post suggested, I temporarily let myself join the ranks of the overscheduled. I had inadvertently gotten off of the success super highway at the exit for “Overwhelmed Avenue” and was slowing my speed considerably when I caught myself. Yikes! Luckily I found the onramp to get right back up there without a lengthy detour, but any time we overtask ourselves there is cleanup to do! Even a brief backslide in this direction comes with a price.
Think of it this way. You are pretty hungry and there are a lot of delicious choices in your refrigerator. Each of them appeals to you in your famished state. They all look positively yummy! So you take several dishes out and put them on the counter. Maybe you start cooking something special or just heat up some leftovers. Then it occurs to you that, even though you are super hungry, you could never begin to eat half of what you have taken out. So you wisely choose something healthy and prepare the correct amount, only what you can consume and benefit from right now. Some things you can put in the freezer and get to them much later. Others go back into the refrigerator. Maybe a few have been left in there past their prime and go into the trash…
But regardless of the choices you make vis a vis the smorgasbord on the counter, there is clean up to do! You got it all out. So now you have to eat it or put it away!
Work is like that too. All of that food in your refrigerator is analogous to the many skills and talents you have— things you like to do, want to do, things you are good at, and the myriad opportunities that those skills attract. I want to write this article, attend that conference, have lunch with this potential client, do that project, work on marketing, catch up my books, host this meeting, teach that class…. If we aren’t careful, we can end up staring at a calendar full of tasks that don’t really get us where want to go.
The risk is that we dilute our brands, especially as solo-preneurs, becoming jacks of all trades and masters of none. Worse yet, we get so insanely busy that we forget to follow up on little things— a phone call here, a lead there, and end up less reliable than we intend to be.
Uh oh! Integrity challenge!!!
So what’s an ambitious over-achiever to do??? (That’s probably you if you are reading this!) The general consensus is that an alignment check is in order— setting priorities according to your core beliefs and strategic guidance and letting the rest go. By all means, use the 80-20 rule! Focus the bulk of your time and attention on the opportunities that generate the greatest payoff for your business in the least amount of time. I love this approach and work hard to use my time this way. It is a recipe for improving one’s focus, succeeding where it counts, and avoiding administrivia.
Yet I would also offer a word of caution. When you set aside those small, seemingly insignificant tasks or put them off, don’t forget to consider the effects on your integrity and how others perceive you, not to mention the unintended consequences of the choice to blow something off, or do it at the expense of something else.
Practice the 80-20 rule with relational introspection (simultaneous awareness of yourself, others, and the context of your actions).
You might want to ask yourself, “Did I give my word?” “Is someone counting on me for this?” If either answer is “Yes,” then you need to make an effort to deliver what was promised or come clean with an apology. Ouch! In the meantime, SAY NO to adding more to your plate unless you can, in good conscience, let go of something else to pull it off.
Sign #3 that the zombie in the mirror might be you: Lack of focus
If you find yourself sitting in a room, trying to listen to a talented speaker and your TO DO list is bouncing around in your head, maybe you aren’t where you are supposed to be at that time.
When you find yourself wishing you were somewhere else, not truly enjoying the journey every single day, it’s time to back up the truck!
Even those of us with the good fortune to love what we do and do what we love can have days like that. The trick is to spot the pattern early, before it can repeat and become an unfolding fractal in your life, repeating itself unconsciously in big ways and small ways that come to become a part of who you are.
So what’s the remedy? Can the undead be revived?
I would argue that the answer is a resounding YES! The choice to reset and reinforce constructive patterns is yours. The great news is that you get to make that choice in each and every moment. Even if the right decision is to meet an obligation that is unsatisfying, to get it off of your plate and not accept another helping of metaphorical beets (my least favorite food), you DO have choices.
So how about you? Have you spent any time in the zombie zone???
Maybe it’s time to hit the mat, clear your mind, and put some of that stuff back in the fridge!
Copyright, Gly Solutions, LLC 2015
