When You Are Out of Power
Out of electricity, energy, light, warmth, hope and inspiration, but still needs to stay productive. Short life-guidance
“How do you manage to stay in Ukraine and develop 2 businesses at once having no electricity for 12h per day?”, — unexpected questions, that I was asked during my morning yoga class. My coach was both scared and inspired looking at my calmness as if I was crazy. However, I replied, that I just found balance, like the one we need in yoga. It may sound way too ordinary, but the truth is that the only thing you need to develop your skills and business even during the darkest times is a balance between your work, your health and your power.
What is Going on Around?
Before talking about the question, we have a bigger agenda here.
When “staying without power” may literally mean:
- living in conditions where you have no electricity for 12h per day like in Ukraine;
- having the work of your life closed down due to the energy crises in the world like what people who worked on Collider in Switzerland feel;
- having no inspiration or motivation to work due to the uninspiring business changes in Twitter and similar corporations;
- having no willingness to move forward and develop your skills looking at instant war conflicts, global security crises and supply chain crises like what people in the EU feel.
The whole world seems to pass through one great crisis, like what we felt in the middle of the XX century. However, modern technologies make this crisis a little bit more informationally popular with people. At the same time, great development of the informational field also makes the influence of stress on human psychology stronger, making it harder to overcome dopamine coma after having a normal happy life.
How to Stay Proactive?
However, I believe that surviving crises is not only possible but pretty natural for human beings.
People got used to surviving the crises. Having pretty complicated socially-political segmentation of the world as well as having constant viruses and hunger issues on the planet, not even talking about climate changes and clean water — we got used to living with malaria, without clean water in certain areas and with facial masks on. The same goes here. We can get used to living without power (both external and internal), but still, keep on working.
This may be called now “toxic productivity”, but despite the fact this definition became pretty popular lastly, I believe that there is no toxicity in keeping on working during hard times and here is why:
- work helps to switch attention and drive it from the irritating factor to the more pleasant things;
- long-term depression may and most likely will result in the loss of money one day, while focusing on work makes the same result (you are not thinking about the problem) and earn money instead;
- working during hard times makes your work more valuable for others and you are becoming a true professional in the eyes of surrounding people.
Looking from different perspectives work can never harm you, but only if you keep a good balance. When having complicated times you should be especially accurate with this. Let morning become your “health friend”. Set alarms for the same time daily and repeat rituals, which should include sports, meditation and morning walks. This will help to keep your mind clean and balanced. Then, start working and pay at least 8 hrs per day to work, having no odd appointments and “friends coffee breaks”. However, you should set a strict time that will be a “work limit”. And doesn’t matter what at this time you stop working on all projects and switch to “pleasant pleasures”, like reading, watching movies and having dates.
Staying productive holds on being ready, that life will become even more complicated, since you never know where the end is. However, you should define a perfect time routine for yourself and start practising it daily. Despite the fact, it may seem like you’re having “same day every day”, you will be showing yourself: there is stability in the world and it is right inside of yourself.
