Productivity in Chaotic Times – TPW450

This week we’re talking about staying productive even when we’re surrounded by chaos. Even in chaotic times, we can thrive by prioritizing what's most important Most of us deal with multiple competing priorities: professional, personal, civic, and more. Whether you’re in the child-rearing stage, juggling schedules for yourself, your kids, and your partner, or in the midst of your education, or building a career in a demanding field, or later in life caring for an aging parent--or some combination of the above--life can seem chaotic at times, with any sort of sustainable balance feeling out of the question.  Add to that the fact that we live in difficult times, when bad news dominates the media locally, nationally, and around the world and can make us feel uncertain and unsafe. How do we stay productive when chaos seems the rule of the day? Understanding Chaos and Its Impact Definition: complete disorder and confusion. Webster’s defines it as a state of utter confusion.  One article says it this way: “In Greek mythology, Chaos was the dark abyss from which everything came--a beginning point, not a place of refuge. In everyday life, however, chaos is that groundless, rudderless state that results from endlessly (and mindlessly) chasing after things--sensations, thrills, experiences, objects, people, prestige, power, or even comfort. In a life ruled by chaos, busy-ness means everything. But chaos makes it hard to put a coherent life together, for our energies never coalesce to push us in a purposeful, disciplined direction.” We all experience it sometimes One writer described it this way: “there are times and seasons of life when organization and calm seem to go out the window and chaos and disorganization take over every inch of your life, right? Times where no matter what you do and how hard you try, you just can’t seem to find that rhythm you had going…  Notebooks, earbuds, and calendars scattered on a desk. Times where the urgent things take over and absolutely must be done, so the everyday things get left in the dust and forgotten about… Until all of a sudden, you look around and see nothing but chaos and mayhem and disorder and all you want to do is scream!”  There are seasons of life that are almost chaotic by nature: new baby; new job; new home; unexpected death of someone you love; busy seasons at work (every December for me and other real estate lawyers). Chaos can come from good things--especially multiple good things happening at the same time Whether the chaos comes from good or not-so-good sources, it affects our ability to get things done, because the chaos-causing events or circumstances consume our time, our energy, and our attention--as one writer put it: “taking over every thought, every emotion, and taking up every ounce of energy you have to give.” Common challenges women face during chaotic periods * Feelings of guilt or shame -- we think we ought to be able to control things (but the truth is, we can’t)  * Chaos breeds chaos -- it can snowball as we get behind on our work, or we struggle to keep up with maintaining order in our space  * Anxiety and distraction when things feel out of control (not just the events, but the house or, if the chaos is at work, your workspace)  “The noise of chaos often drowns out our internal voi...