I have had the good fortune of personally meeting and spending time with Dr. Edward Hallowell, one of the top ADD psychiatrists in the world. This best-selling author has first-hand experience in the crazy busy lifestyle that so many of us are now in. His incredibly insightful book, Crazy Busy, was recently expanded into a hugely popular audio program by Nightingale-Conant, and he has appeared on Oprah five times, which, of course, is pretty cool.
I’ve learned so much from Ned about my own Crazy Busy propensities and challenges, and these lessons also apply perfectly to my Crazy Busy clients!
Here is one of my favorite concepts from the book - I’ve summarized it briefly in case your attention span is as short as mine!
F-State vs C-State
F-state is when we’re frantic, frenzied, forgetful, fearful. And perhaps using some other choice words beginning with the letter F.
Here’s an example – you’re running late, racing to a meeting and realize you: a) forgot to bring the paperwork you need for the meeting and b) your car is running extremely low on gas. How do you feel? And how do you react? When we’re in F-state, we’re dangerous! This “mode” can apply to anytime in our workday, when we’re feeling overwhelmed and all over the place. In F-state, we don’t do our best work.
C-state is when we’re calm, cool, collected, careful, and courteous.
This might occur when you start off your day with a clear desktop, knowing exactly what you’re going to accomplish for the day, feeling fresh and motivated. C-state is when you are likely to get high-quality work done, and though we all drift to F-state at times, having an awareness of the difference helps to bring us back to C-state, where we are most productive.
Want to learn more? Grab a copy of Crazy Busy today! I’d love to hear what you think of it.
