I was a bit overwhelmed with work a while ago.
I was so fed up, I did not set an alarm, didn’t write a job list and didn’t really care what I did.
It worked. I had a great day.
I then retrospectively thought of it as an expectation detox
What it is an Expectation Detox?
Doing an activity with zero expectations of the output. Going into it happy that you might get nothing out of it. Reseting ever increasing and unrealistic expectations you put on yourself.
The process…
- Notice when you are overwhelmed and identify specifically what activity is causing it — sometimes harder than you think.
- Think about the expectation you are placing on yourself. Would you expect that of others? Are they reasonable? Where did they come from? What do other people think?
- Do an Expectation Detox
A few examples…
Adventure
Go away for the weekend not caring what mountain you climb, river you paddle. Just go and enjoy.
Work
Don’t expect anything from a particular colleague for a day. Don’t write a job list. Just help others for a day. Don’t use productivity tools for a day.
Try it. You might find it refreshing.
Here is a graph I made
