Productivity Tip: “I’m excited”
Imagine you’re about to give a big presentation, walk into an interview, or speak in front of a large group of people.
Your heart will beat a little faster, your palms are sweaty, you’re thinking about how it will go, what if you make a mistake, will you perform or miss the chance to do so?
What should you tell yourself? Should you try to calm down or be excited?
Alison Brooks, a researcher at Harvard Business School, asked this question to hundreds of people, and the response was nearly unanimous: 91% said they thought the best advice was to try and calm down.
Surprisingly, this was not what her research shows.
Alison gave hundreds of people a stressful test to perform, having to do an impromptu speech in front of a large group. She instructed half of the group to say to themselves, “I am calm” The other half were instructed to say, “I am excited.”
The result, the “I am excited” group, way outperformed the “I am calm group.”
Why is that?
It’s because anxiety is what scientists call a high arousal state, and being calm is a low arousal state. It’s almost impossible to go from a high arousal state to a low one; it’s like cruising at 80mph and slamming on the breaks. It’s not a good idea.
What you need to do is channel that fear and energy and reframe it as excitement, so channelling it into a positive, constructive direction, and effectively, pressing go on the accelerator rather than stop.
And “I am excited” is an incredible way to make that happen.
So, what do you say when you’re feeling your heart race before a big event and your nerves are building?
Just say, “I am excited.”
Try it out at your next big event and see how you feel.
Project Management Tip: “Using neutral thinking to increase performance”
There have been so many times when I wished I had used neutral thinking as a Project Manager.
The most obvious is getting a crappy email from a client or a not particularly helpful teammate or manager, and I’ve sent an angry or defensive reply straight away.
I’ve done this without thinking about the following;
“Why have they sent this email?”
“What are they dealing with right now to cause this response?”
“What is the best solution to solve this issue?”
I’ve just responded in the moment with emotion.
Then the next day, you look at that email in your sent items and think, I wish I could turn back time and respond differently.
As a Project Manager, you need to get the right balance between being too optimistic (not realistic) and overly negative (fixed mindset and not focusing on how to resolve an issue, just blaming others)
Neutral thinking is the ideal mindset for a Project Manager as it means accepting that when something bad happens, it happens. Instead of getting caught up in the negativity, you take it for what it is and move on.
As a Project Manager, something will go wrong on your project, whether that’s your mistake, teammates, a disruptive client, or something entirely out of your control.
Neutral thinking helps you take a step back, remove your emotion in your reply, and in some cases, ignore your pride and do what’s best to help resolve it at that moment.
It’s not always easy to do this, as emotions are sometimes tough to control, especially if you’re tired or really busy.
To help, just create a quick checklist you always refer to when a problematic situation arises.
Here’s what I use to help me gather my thoughts on providing a neutral response.
- Do I need to respond immediately, or can it wait for when I have time to review in more detail?
- What emotional state was the sender in when they sent this?
- Is the sender under pressure from a manager or in their role, which would make them send this?
- What’s the one thing I could do to help the sender right now?
- What are the key subsequent actions to resolve this situation?
- What could have caused this type of response?
You don’t need to ask yourself all of these, but it helps to take a moment and check your list so you can respond in a professional, helpful and neutral manner.
So create your list, and keep it accessible to call on it when you need it.
Have a great day.
Ben from the PPM Academy.
