How To Get Up Off The Floor
It’s another Monday!
I liked getting to send out 2 newsletters last week—I felt like I got to connect with y’all more throughout the week. What do you say we do it again? If you miss our 4-3-2-1 countdown format, be sure to let me know in the poll at the bottom of this email so that I can get back to creating those. Otherwise, we’ll stick with this simpler format of 1 full OBA article in a twice-weekly newsletter. As you will be able to tell from this very personal OBA Studios journal entry I wrote, I’m a bit overwhelmed so simple is good haha! :)
Here’s to a great week ahead!
Cheers,
Ceylan (OBA Studios Editor-In-Chief)
How To Get Up off the Floor When You Are Overwhelmed
Just a couple days ago, I was sprawled out on my living room floor, completely paralyzed with overwhelming dread.
I had said yes to the offer of an administrative position by the team at OBA Studios. Now I was in charge of building our online presence from the ground up, gaining traction and adding to our growth metrics. My perspective of “I hate social media and marketing” turned into, “...but I have to figure out how to do these things successfully if we want our dream business to become a reality.”
But I’ve never been a successful marketer. I don’t know how to run a company’s online presence or the first thing about the all-powerful algorithm. I’ve only used LinkedIn for a couple months and I already despise the website. I’m trying to learn the ins and outs and unspoken rules of three different professional writing platforms at once. I hate making noise. I’m an introvert, people scare me, and people online are even scarier.
My boss and OBA’s founder, Jared, and our advisor, Eric, have been there for me to lean on and have been incredible at making me feel empowered. But, at this moment, Jared was out of commission dealing with a super scary health crisis. Eric was trying to keep his family safe during Hurricane Milton. While they focused on more important problems for a few weeks, I told them I could hold down the fort running OBA.
But I was stuck on the floor. There was just SO MUCH to do, and I had no idea how to do any of it. So I continued to lay there and rotted in overpowering anxiety.
Eventually, I got up and wrote this article. Because I want to help YOU, in case you are also laying on the floor, paralyzed and overwhelmed.
Make sure you are well enough to work
This world has perpetuated the destructive idea that you must work even when your metaphorical tank is empty. As much as us workaholics don’t want to believe this fact–one that will keep knocking you down until you accept reality–the truth is that you cannot pour from an empty cup. Eventually, you will burn out, and the event will be catastrophic. You need to take care of yourself if you have any hope of being productive. For those of you who are stubborn, like me, and trying to be an exception to the rule, let me say so again: YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WORK IF YOU DON’T TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY AND MIND.
Have you eaten today? No, iced coffee, an energy drink, or a piece of candy doesn’t count.
Did you drink at least 1 glass of water?
Did you sleep for more than 5 hours last night?
Did you take a shower? Brush your teeth? Put on clean clothes?
Did you touch grass or see sunlight today?
These tasks are priorities. Yes, life is flexible for what works for each individual, and, yes, the beauty of being your own boss is that you can still kick ass at your job while in your pajamas looking like a swamp rat. But you need to do the basics to take care of yourself. If you haven’t, stop the work you’re trying to do right now and get a snack or take a nap.
Sometimes we will go through seasons where the only thing we cross off our to-do list is a basic morning routine. Because doing so means you are filling up your tank to be more powerful at the next task you attempt, that kind of day is still a successful day.
Pro tip: get yourself someone who will remind you at random moments of the day to eat. Or yell at you to go to bed when you are running off 20 hours of no sleep and still spinning your wheels in the mud trying to work. Sometimes, that’s what our team chat room at OBA looks like. Working with people who you know genuinely care about your wellbeing is AWESOME, but sadly, I know that kind of support is a luxury. Regardless, do not give up searching for support people. It is essential to find these true friends in other places, and keep them close!
Get your head around the task
I hate when I don’t know what I’m doing. There’s no way I can accomplish a task if I can’t even get my head around it. Sometimes, getting to this understanding will require some research.
Do a Google search and read a couple articles. Watch a YouTube tutorial or seven. Ask your questions on Reddit or Facebook, or some other forum. Listen to a podcast while you do some dishes.
I am not some psychological guru with all the brilliant mind hacks to beat your brain at the stupid games it likes to play with you. But I know that I get much more clarity on how to complete a task after I have taken the time to understand the task.
Cross something–anything–off your list
Break up tasks into smaller steps. I don’t care how tiny the task is. If your task is to write an article, start by jotting down one subheading you want to incorporate. If your task is to engage on platforms, start by opening up the app.
Then, put these micro-steps on your to-do list! Research shows that the dopamine boost your brain gets from crossing something off your to-do list will motivate you to go for the next task. This process is similar to why military generals tell you to make your bed in the morning. Small successes lead to greater achievements.
Again, I’m no psychology guru, but I know there are ways to tricking the little gremlin in your brain into producing the dopamine you need to be productive. In fact, when I think of psychology this way, I power up the part of my personality that will do anything out of spite.
Embody the adage, “One step at a time.” Baby steps count!
Reaffirm your mission
Every time I find myself losing steam, slowing down from a steady running pace to a sad cross between stumbling, walking, and falling–or even plopping down on my rear altogether–I know what I need to get back up. There have been countless times I have logged into a team meeting or reached out via message to ask a question completely unmotivated to keep going for one more day. Then, I get off the meeting or come away from the conversation miraculously reinvigorated because whoever I talked to got me excited about our mission again.
This enthusiasm is what your team is here for. We need to remind each other what we are in the fight for, because our brains will forget fast. Me? I’m fighting for the one person who will find encouragement and validation from the stuff we put out there. Every time I engage with writers and readers on Substack or Medium, I think, “What if this touches that one person?” Every time I come across and enjoy good art, I think “The world needs more of this, and I can do something about that.”
Even when life is beyond overwhelming, if you have a strong enough “why,” you will find the strength and motivation to do anything.